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Lately I've been thinking a lot about how America isn’t much better than Europe when it comes to Roma discrimination. To give a specific example of what I'm referring to, in south Florida there is a "gypsy crimes task force" 1/
The South Florida gypsy crimes task force operates in many counties like Broward and Palm Beach, and they specifically target Roma people for their "hallmark scams” which were outlined in a 2001 issue of Police Magazine 2/
Police magazine labeled Roma as “experts at false identification” and claimed that they choose a lifestyle of thievery that “comes as natural as eating and sleeping”
The article also detailed specific cons and outlined how
police can identify and stop them 3/
The article also detailed specific cons and outlined how
police can identify and stop them 3/
Another group called the National Association of Bunco
Investigators lists numerous reported “gypsy crimes” on their website and specifically targets non-traditional crime
suspects 4/
Investigators lists numerous reported “gypsy crimes” on their website and specifically targets non-traditional crime
suspects 4/
As recently as 2015, the National Association of Bunco Investigators held multiple workshops such as “Introduction to Criminal Gypsies and Travellers” and “Fortune Telling Fraud” 5/
These task forces are known to closely monitor Roma groups in America and they keep lists of Roma surnames. Police also look for markers like certain types of trucks when they are profiling Romani Americans 6/
A November 2020 study conducted by the Francois-Xavier Bagnoud Center for Health and Human Rights found that 4 out of 10 Romani Americans experienced racial profiling
The study also reported that 65% of Romani Americans felt discriminated against because of their heritage 7/
The study also reported that 65% of Romani Americans felt discriminated against because of their heritage 7/
Racial profiling of Roma in America is not only very common, it is largely ignored, and the legality of these task forces in not just Florida, but across America, doesn’t seem to be questioned as often as it should be 8/
