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Audit of Initiatives Related to Police and Muslim Communities

AGENCY
PROJECT
DURATION
COMMONWEALTH
COMMONWEALTH SECRETARIAT
Commonwealth Manual for Human Rights Training of Police
 This manual is designed to help Commonwealth Governments promote an understanding of and respect for human rights. The manual provides strategies and training programs to equip and enable police services to better deal with community policing. It addresses the tension between protecting human rights and counter terrorist measures emphasising the need to maintain a balance between these measures and human rights. Furthermore the manual provides for training methodologies to enable law enforcement officers to develop human rights standards, practices and approaches.
2006
NATIONAL
DEPARTMENT OF IMMIGRATION AND MULTICULTURAL AFFAIRS
A Good Practice Guide to Culturally Responsive Government Services
 Responding to Diversity: Program Planning, Audit, Evaluation and Reporting Checklist. This guide explains how to integrate cultural awareness practices to facilitate the effective contribution of people from diverse backgrounds in government services. The guide includes a checklist to assist Australian Public Service staff when considering issues of access and equality.
2006
AUSTRALIAN FEDERAL POLICE
(AFP)
Islamic awareness workshops
 The AFP has held Islamic Awareness Workshops attended by AFP members nationally. These workshops involved various members and leaders of the Muslim and Arab community speaking to police on topics including racial discrimination and Islam, its beliefs and customs. Activities included:
  • A speech by Mr Ali Roude, Chairman of the Islamic Council of New South Wales, in December 2003 at the Senior Executive Retreat about what it is to be an Australian Muslim (Published in Platypus No. 18 March 2004).
  • An information session, delivered by Ms Aziza Abdel-Halim, a representative of the Australian Women’s Muslim Network, about Muslim cultural issues held at the AFP Counter-Terrorism (CT) Workshop. The workshop also introduced participants to particular issues that regularly confront police officers in the daily execution of their duties.
2003




Liaison with Muslim community members and leaders
 After September 11, each AFP Executive Team in respective regions sought to develop strong relationships with Muslim and Arab communities. Formal and informal lines of communication continue with Islamic Councils as part of this outreach program. Specific examples follow:
  • The AFP Melbourne Office holds regular meetings with Muslim community leaders and representatives of the Islamic Council of Victoria.    
  • The AFP Sydney Office has been engaged with the Sydney Muslim Community on a regular basis particularly focusing on forming new relationships with the Islamic youth.  The frequency of this contact occurs weekly with formal meetings held monthly (approximately).
  • The AFP Adelaide Office meets with leaders in the Islamic Community on a quarterly basis.  In August 2006 Adelaide Office initiated a cultural awareness presentation from the Muslim Women's Association.  This highly successful event was attended by AFP, Customs, Australian Crime Commission (ACC), Attorney Generals Department and SA Police.
  • The AFP Perth Office have been engaged on a significant level with the Islamic Community since 1971 undertaking formal meetings every six months. The Manager of the Perth Office is regularly invited and attends various Islamic Community events and in June 2006 led an open forum discussion attended by a wide range of organisations including councils and religious centres.
  • The AFP Darwin Office has reached an agreement with the recently elected Presidents of both the Darwin and Alice Springs Islamic Councils to involve them in a program of Islamic awareness seminars for AFP members.  In support of this, Darwin Office members have attended Friday Prayer Sessions at the Darwin mosque, and open days at the Darwin Islamic Centre.  The Darwin office maintains regular ongoing meetings with Muslim community leaders and the local Imam.
  • The AFP Brisbane Office has increased their contact with the Islamic Community and the Islamic Council of Queensland.  The office regularly attends Muslim community events and provides advice on the role of the AFP and impact of relevant legislation.
2001-ongoing
Student Address
 AFP has addressed Muslim students in relation to discrimination and fears held by the community.
Links with the Female Islamic Community
 Female AFP members have attended meetings with female members of the Islamic community in Brisbane to discuss issues and concerns they may have in dealing with the AFP.
Protective Security Intelligence (PSI) and the Islamic Community
 PSI officers throughout Australia continue to meet with members of the Australian Islamic community to provide it with a voice in the federal law enforcement sphere. This contact was supported by regular meetings between senior members of the Islamic community and the AFP.
AFP Chaplaincy
Muslim Chaplain
 Mr Khalil Chami is the first Muslim Chaplain for the AFP and NSW Police. Khalil is available for religious matters and as a source of advice on Islamic culture and religion, including as a lecturer for AFP courses or as a guest speaker.
2002- ongoing
Islam and Its Mis-
representation
Article in Platypus, the AFP quarterly Magazine, by Federal Agent Mark Briskey about the misrepresentation of Islam in the media and public discourse.
December 2002
Ethnic Radio Interviews
 Federal police agents discuss multicultural issues and crime prevention in multicultural communities. Interviews have been conducted with federal police in Brisbane. In Canberra the Crime Prevention Superintendent has a monthly spot on the ethnic community radio station.
Ongoing
Language and Cultural Training for the AFP
 Funding under New Policy Initiative supports Language and Cultural Training for the AFP. This Melbourne based project supports the development of an ongoing national framework for the AFP. The AFP is currently engaging identified members of the Islamic community to deliver cultural packages to the AFP through Counter-Terrorism (CT) courses. The AFP has delivered a presentation to the United Sri Lankan Muslim Association of Australia on the role and function of the AFP, the terrorism environment and avenues for the Muslim community to deal with post incident (terrorism) community backlash.
2006
National (COAG) Strategy
 The AFP is engaged at a national level in Canberra as a stakeholder and working group partner in the National (Council Of Australian Governments) Strategy being facilitated by DIMA. The National Strategy, which is still in developmental stage, has the following objectives in mind: 
  • Improving AFP understanding of extremism among young Australian Muslims – maintaining a dialogue with Muslims and undertaking research to better understand Muslim community issues.
  • Building leadership capacity in the Australian Muslim Community – measures to strengthen the leadership and communication skills of moderate Muslims to better represent their communities.
  • Promoting mainstream Islam in Australia – Australia based training for religious and other community leaders and support for scholarship exchange programs to enhance people-to-people links between Australia and moderate Islamic countries.
  • Encouraging tolerance and social cohesion – communications plans to combat negative public perceptions of Islam, multi faith and other events to nurture understanding, projects and partnerships to foster inclusiveness, particularly among young Muslims and the promotion of civics education and Australian values.
  • Responding to Muslim Concerns – Consulting Australian Muslims in relation to the use of new counter-terrorism powers and identifying any issues which contribute to the social exclusion of Muslims from mainstream Australian society.
Ongoing
NATIONAL POLICE ETHNIC ADVISORY BUREAU (NPEAB) NOW APMAB
A Closer Look National Recruitment Video
 The Bureau, in partnership with the Victoria Police Multicultural Unit and with the cooperation of all Police jurisdictions developed a documentary recruitment video targeting ethnic communities. The video, titled A Closer Look National Recruitment Video, provided all jurisdictions with a valuable marketing tool to help ensure that ethnic communities had a more accurate understanding of the role and services of police in Australia. The video documents a range of community policing initiatives across all jurisdictions. The video was subtitled into five languages including Turkish and Arabic to ensure that parents, who often play a decisive role in terms of their children’s occupational choice, could view the video in their first language.
November 2001
Information Sheets
 Information sheets were produced to meet the police’s need for information on cultural, religious and linguistic matters regarding new emerging communities. In 2001 NPEAB produced information sheets about Kosovo, Iranians, Iraqis, Afghans and the Israeli Palestinian conflict.
2001
Dealing with Racist Violence
 An educational package with video, as part of a harmony project to address issues of racially motivated violence.
A Practical Reference to
Religious Diversity for Operational Police
 NPEAB undertook a nation-wide consultation with police services to identify areas of concern which operational police perceived as possibly inhibiting the provision of culturally sensitive services to the community. These consultations yielded a broad and varied spectrum of questions which operational police from around Australia wished to be answered by major religious groups. In response a ready-reference guide was designed to bridge knowledge gaps pertaining to religiously and culturally determined behaviours.Issues covered:
  • A brief history of Islam
  • Key Islamic celebrations and events
  • Worship practices
  • Death and related issues
  • Gender
  • Code of dress
  • Family structure and culture
  • Physical contact
  • Policing and Islamic religious practices
  • Police entering a mosque
For more information see:www.apmab.gov.au
Edition (2) 2002. 2006 edition currently under review
AUSTRALASIAN POLICE MULTICULTURAL ADVISORY BUREAU AND THE AUSTRALIAN MULTICULTURAL FOUNDATION
(AMF)
Developing Partnerships and Working Together:
Responding to concerns from the Muslim community in Australia following the tragedies of September 11, 2001 and the Bali Bombings in October 2002.
 A national forum, Developing Partnerships and Working Together, was held in Melbourne to discuss key issues facing members of the Muslim community. The meeting included discussions of key issues facing members of the Muslim community including how to work more closely with police to ensure safety and how to improve recognition of Muslims as members of Australian society. The aim of the meeting was to open new communication channels between Australian Muslim communities and police and reassure community members that incidents of racial vilification would not be tolerated and that perpetrators would be dealt with to the full extent of the law.
2002
AUSTRALASIAN POLICE MULTICULTURAL ADVISORY BUREAU
Qualitative study on Recruitment and Retention
 The study examined workplace experiences and perceptions of police officers from CALD backgrounds and identified factors which might impact on those officers’ decision to leave or stay in the organisation. The data was obtained from qualitative research and in depth interviews. Respondents comprised a cohort of officers from diverse backgrounds including Dutch, Turkish, Greek, Vietnamese, Serbian, Italian, Egyptian, Indian, Armenian, Filipino, Indonesian, German and a component of Anglo-Celtic officers. The study comprised 20 officers including four women.
APMAB/ Mosaic Fund
 The Mosaic Fund provides funding assistance for projects undertaken by CALD communities and police to work together in partnership to enhance community relations and address issues of discrimination and racism. Projects address the following themes:
  • Enhancing communication and fostering trust between police and young people from culturally, linguistically and religiously diverse backgrounds;
  • Anti-Arab or anti-Muslim prejudice;
  • Building partnerships and better relationships between new and emerging communities and Police; and
  • Arabic speaking communities and people who practice Islam

Former Mosaic Fund award winners
Arabic culture and language training: 2002
Victorian Arabic Social Services
Commander Ashley Dickinson, Victoria Police

Working Together in Partnership: 2003
South Australian Lebanese Women’s Association and Senior Constable Russel Disher, South Australian Police.
The aim of this project was to help foster awareness of the challenges and issues facing Arabic-speaking youth and the benefits of their positive participation in both Arabic-speaking and wider Australian community. In developing communication, co-operation and trusting relationships, all stakeholders were encouraged to create an environment that is safe and seen to be fair and equally accessible.

Practical Reference to Religious Diversity for Operational Police (2nd edition)
 This reference book seeks to help police deliver religiously appropriate services and includes information about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander spirituality, Baha'i, Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Islamic, Jewish, and Sikh Faiths. General background information about each religion is provided together with information about key religious festivals, sects, and worship practices. Also highlighted are issues relating to death, gender and family roles, physical contact, religious practices and policing (including examples of how religious teachings may impact on the delivery of police and emergency services). This will be updated for the third time in 2006.
A Guide to the Role of Police in Australia
This publication is aimed at assisting newly-arrived migrants in understanding their rights and responsibilities under Australia Law. The publication includes the role of police, the role of courts, the role of police liaison officers, police powers, reporting a crime, an overview of criminal offences in Australia, the rights of children as well as what to do if you are questioned or arrested by the police and what to do if you are a victim of crime. Publications were made available in all states and territories. The guide was produced in 8 languages including Arabic. It is available at: www.apmab.gov.au
The Recruitment & Retention of CALD Officers
 APMAB (in conjunction with Myriad Consultants and NSW Police) is currently developing a set of guidelines to assist police jurisdictions on the recruitment and retention of Multicultural Liaison Officers. This is due to be completed by the end of 2006. This will include a National Statement of Principles of issues and strategies underlying recruitment from ethnic communities.
Police Media Descriptors
 ‘Police Media Descriptors: A National Research Project to Collection of Data to Inform the Development of a Set of National Standards.’
A research study and survey of the current police practices in regards to using descriptors in all jurisdictions, the need for training in relation to descriptors and the development of national set of standards. The research identified where people of the Muslim faith were subject of an investigation, it would have been beneficial to have had better cultural understanding. Two thirds of the respondents to the survey indicated their desire to receive cultural awareness training.
New Arrivals Kit
 DIMA provided $50,000 to assist the development and production of the New Arrivals Kit. The kit provides simple but vital information on the role of police in Australia to assist in the settlement of newly arrived migrants and refugees in Australia. The information was produced in English and translated into seven identified community languages including Arabic, Farsi, Bosnian, Vietnamese, Afghani and Somali.
2006
Multilingual Brochures
 APMAB has produced multilingual brochures in 8 languages on How to Report Crime. Available at: www.apmab.gov.au
Newsletters
 The bi-annual newsletter Bureau Bulletin keeps community groups abreast of APMAB’s activities and is used as a way of communicating with the community.
Police and CALD Communities Consultative National Forum
APMAB with AMF and Victorian Multicultural Commission (VMC)
 APMAB in partnership with AMF and VMC conducted a national consultative forum for police and communities from CALD backgrounds on June 21, 2006 at the Tasmanian Police Academy in Hobart. The aim of the consultative forum was to:
  • identify current and emerging issues of concern relating to policing multicultural communities;
  • exchange of information and learning between police jurisdictions on cultural diversity matters;
  • showcase best practice models of communication and community relations strategies operating in each State and Territory;
  • provide a national public forum for dialogue and discourse between police and CALD communities; and
  • provide Police Commissioners with recommendations to enhance service delivery.
The outcome of this forum will be the development of strategies to enhance police service delivery to its CALD customer base and information derived from the forum will inform policing priorities for police jurisdictions. One workshop at the forum was on violence, vilification and victimisation. In this workshop discussion revolved around:
  • The onus of the victim to prove victimisation in current legislation.
  • Heightened security measures and terrorism were feeding perpetrators of hate crimes in relations to Muslim communities.
  • Concern that police did not take reports of instances of racial crime seriously enough.
The workshop raised an awareness of hate crime and demonstrated the police responses to these issues. A number of key issues arose from the discussions. Other workshops aimed to assist the police and communities influence and help improve strategies for working together. Good and bad practice factors were indicated. There was also recognition of the need to evaluate the success of programs.
National Forum of Police Chaplains
 APMAB, in partnership with Victoria Police and the AMF, conducted a national information forum for police chaplains to discuss the interrelationship between religion and cultural diversity in the context of Australia’s social cohesion. The forum was conducted in response to recent public discourse surrounding faith and interfaith issues and to exchange information between police Chaplains from all jurisdictions around Australia and New Zealand.The outcomes of the Forum include:
  • exchange of information on religious diversity issues;
  • a forum to showcase best practice models; and
  • enhanced networking between police Chaplains and other faith networks.
Workshop for Police-Community Liaison Officers
 The role of PCLO is to provide dialogue and communication between the police and community groups from ethnic and linguistically diverse groups. The outcome of this workshop was a set of recommendations including:
  • the need to coordinate a set of guidelines for strategies and training across all jurisdictions;
  • promotion of PCLO’s; and
  • establish a national reference group for uniformity project priority determination nation wide.
AUSTRALIAN MULTICULTURAL FOUNDATION
Ethnic Youth Gangs in Australia. Do They Exist?
 A series of detailed research reports on ethnic youth and gangs prepared by Rob White, Santina Perrone, Carmel Guerra and Rosario Lampugnani. Includes Report No. 2 on Turkish Young People, 1999, and Report No. 4 on Somalian Young People, 1999. One of the aims of this report was to obtain information on how police officers responded to ethnic minority young people and ‘gang’ members. The report proposed strategies including: the adoption of appropriate community policing practices for positive and constructive interaction between police and ethnic minority youths.
Constructing a Local Multi-faith Network
 A kit for religiously and civic-minded people to enable them to create multi-faith networks within their local communities with the aim of generating dialogue, understanding, cooperation and interaction between local faith groups. This kit provides detailed processes to enable communities to develop their own multi-faith network. For more information:
www.amf.net.au/rsch_research_religion
DiversityCohesion.shtml
National Youth Muslim Summit
 AMF held a summit for young Muslims from all around Australia to discuss issues concerning young Muslims. It was discussed that there was a need for community building and one of the methods through which this could be achieved was recruiting more CALD police across the different police jurisdictions.
FAMILY COURT OF AUSTRALIA
Families and the Law in Australia
 The aim of this Living in Harmony project is to help empower different communities in their interactions with the family law system of Australia. As part of this project, models and strategies were developed to work with new and emerging communities including Afghan, Somali, Eritrean, Ethiopian, Sudanese and Iraqi communities, and other communities as appropriate. The project undertook four pilots in New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, and Tasmania.
NEW SOUTH WALES
NEW SOUTH WALES POLICE
Police and Community Training
(PACT)






















































 PACT projects were established to foster and facilitate co-operation and goodwill between police and their local communities.

Marrickville PACT: Marrickville Speaks
A CD-Rom on policing within a multicultural society for schools, police, universities and community groups.

Kogarah PACT: A Little Respect
Video education resource which explores police and youth relations, to bridge the gap between police and youth. The resources were developed with consultancy support from the Open Training & Education Network (OTEN) of NSW TAFE.

Fairfield PACT
A pool hall used as a drop-in centre once a week for police and local young people was the focus of this project. Attracting 200 young people at each session, the PACT team was overwhelmed with the level of interest amongst youth and police in finding appropriate venues where two groups can interact to come to a better understanding of each other’s experience and expectations.

Cabramatta KARES
Kids at Risk Excursions was a proactive strategy targeting young people ‘at risk’ who may benefit from participating in structured programs such as camps, workshops and day excursions with police.

Cabramatta Video PACT: A Question of Trust
A video education resource focusing on the roles, experiences and expectations of police and the local communities they serve. Coordinated jointly by police and community representatives with consultancy support from OTEN.

Penrith/St Marys PACT: A New Dawn
A 28 minute English video addressing domestic violence and its impact on families and communities of culturally diverse backgrounds. Four working parties were formed from the Indian, Arabic speaking, Filipino and Pacific Islander communities to develop a framework for culturally appropriate information and training strategies. Grass roots education through to broader awareness raising campaigns were also implemented.

Bankstown/Campsie PACT
This project consisted of several key stages designed to enhance police-community relations through training and interaction - community orientation for new police officers in the area, two days intensive training for police on understanding the critical components of confrontations and community issues by reflecting on everyday practice and identifying strategies, consultation with stakeholders, positive contact program, research and roundtable meeting with young people in independently facilitated sessions.

Flemington PACT
A video education resource and facilitated workshops involving young people, their parents and police - the project addressed issues concerning the relationship between police and young people, the role of parents and the fostering of positive relationships between parents and police.

Following a Ministerial directive in the early 2000s, PACT was renamed IMPACT.
Innovative Models of Police and Community Training (IMPACT)
 The aim of each IMPACT funded project is to identify a priority and a forum through which police and their local community may work in partnership over a period of time. A community development approach is used in order to ensure full community participation and input throughout all stages of the project. Community consultation is therefore undertaken based on models developed and decided upon by members of local committees.

The IMPACT program initiative in Bankstown consisted of a five stage program involving consultations with police, young people, parents and service providers; community inductions for probationary and new constables; cultural diversity training for police; Positive Contact sessions between police and young people and community information.

IMPACT resources in Arabic:
  • Youth Liaison Officer
  • How to Avoid Bag Snatchers
  • Dangerous and Restricted Dogs
  • What to do if your Child (under 18) is Arrested
  • If you are stopped by Police when Driving
  • How to prevent Robbery and Stealing
  • Criminal Infringement Notice
  • Weapons & Other Prohibited Items
Future IMPACT projects are expected to focus mainly on NSW Police Force Local Area Commands to build greater police capacity to operate in a culturally diverse society.
Who We Are
 Project Partners: Constable Lucas Cameron and Al-Zahra College
St George Local Area Command (LAC) received project funding under APMAB’s Mosaic Fund to continue work commenced with Al-Zarah College primary school on raising awareness around safety and the role of police in the community. Members of the Crime Management Unit, primarily the Crime Prevention Officer, Youth Liaison Officer and Ethnic Community Liaison Officer (ECLO) attend classes bimonthly to present interactive material on topics covering bullying, vandalism, road safety and child protection. The interactive nature of the project aims to build relationships between officers and school children and to dispel myths about the police through face-to-face interactions. It is envisaged that through these positive experiences and relationships police will also have an opportunity to work on building relationships with the parents and families of students and the communities of which they are a part. The program also helps police to become more familiar with community groups and any issues of marginalization they may encounter as expressed by the students.
Be Engaged Be Proud
 Project Partners: ECLO Munther Emad; Holroyd City Council; Holroyd and Parramatta Youth Services Network (H.A.P.Y.N); Holroyd High School.
This project aimed to promote community harmony through facilitating and improving relationships between police and young people. Holroyd LAC conducted a series of community consultations organised with a focus on managing violence following increased tensions, racism and harassment of Muslim and Arabic speaking communities as a result of international terrorist incidents and the Iraq war. Other activities included:
  • A training day on working effectively with young people.
  • A soccer game including police, young people, teachers and youth workers.
  • A sports day.
  • A survey on issues impacting police/youth relations.
  • Crime prevention workshop.
Community Information Sessions
 Local Area Commanders, ECLOs, Crime Prevention Officers and other commissioned officers attend a large number of community meetings to provide information to communities on various topics. Their attendance also serves the purpose of gathering information that will be relevant to designing and delivering services. In particular Crime Prevention Officers, Youth Liaison Officers and ECLOs have specific functions identified in their position descriptions that give them the responsibility to promote awareness in the community of various policing initiatives and police roles. These points of contact provide useful means of informing police of local needs and priorities within ethnic community groups and also give rise to matters that are taken up from a corporate perspective by the Cultural Diversity Team and other parts of the organisation.
Police Assistance Line (PAL)
PAL has specially developed a tailored training package for police around cross-culture communication. The package is incorporated into the induction training for all customer service operators and team leaders. The training focuses on the use of interpreters, understanding the communication issues that might impact on the ability of non-English speakers reporting crimes and having knowledge of the operating procedures of how to access the Telephone Interpreter Service.
NSW Police Force Corporate Communication Branch
 A contracted, qualitative and quantitative research project about the strategies of recruitment of young people from Muslim backgrounds. The objectives of the qualitative study were to identify attitudes specific to Islamic faith (if any) that would influence attitudes among Muslims between 16 and 34 toward policing as a career and identify if the attitudes towards policing as a career changes from first generation to second generation.
Orientation for officers
 Program to introduce new officers to the local community and raise awareness of language and cultural needs of local communities
Police & Arabic Media Partnership
 This partnership provides Arabic speaking communities with regular information on police services such as police procedures, community safety and domestic violence. Participants include SBS radio, 2000 FM Muslim Community Radio and Channel 31 community television.
Diversity: The Strength Behind the Force
 A forum addressing the Recruitment & Retention of Police from Culturally and Linguistically Diverse background.
Ethnic Communities Liaison Officer-
Flyer in Arabic explaining the role and functions of ECLOs
Visits to Mosque & Open Day
 The local Manly ECLO officer organised a police visit to the local mosque on Id-fitr which included collaborative work with the Muslim leaders in hosting an open day in April 2003.
1st Ethnic Media Conference
An initiative of the ECLO program which identified the need for targeted communication of information on recent changes to police powers. The topic of the media conference was Criminal Infringement Notices.
Drugs, Young People and the Law
 Information booklet in Arabic and English for parents of young people aged under 18. This was an initiative of the Fairfield Drug Action Team, The Law Foundation of NSW, Drug Programs Coordination Unit of the NSW Police Service, Burnside Cabramatta, Fairfield Health Services, NSW Department of Juvenile Justice and the Office of the Minister of Police.
Integrated Case Management Pilot Project
 Campsie is the target command in the Integrated Case Management Pilot Project under the Arabic Youth Partnership. The model aims to refer disaffected youth and their families to a coordinated committee of government and non-government services providers to address critical issues and map out sustainable solutions.
  • Knowledge, respect, education, winners (KREW) 4 weeks program and camp for young women from Arabic and Pacific Islander background. This program focused on ‘at risk’ youth, was funded by the Arabic Youth partnerships project and was conducted by Campsie LAC and Belmore Police, Community and Youth Club (PCYC).
  • Campsie LAC along with Sudanese Association Australia has been successful in getting a meeting space for the Sudanese community on Thursday nights at Belmore Youth Centre.
Police and Community Youth Clubs (PCYC) Arabic Youth Programs
 In connection with the Youth Partnership with Arabic speaking communities PCYCs have been given funding to run sporting activities with Arabic speaking youths. Officers running the programs underwent cross-cultural awareness training. As a result of these programs the membership of young people from Arabic Speaking Communities has increased. A series of consultations were undertaken in each of the participating centres and through these consultations further art, recreation and sporting activities have been organised in each PCYC. The participating centres are:
  • Burwood
  • St George
  • Parramatta
  • Belmore
  • Bankstown
Auburn School Holiday Program
 Auburn Police Station has been actively involved in their local community’s School Holiday programs.
Goulburn Police Academy Excursion
 Auburn Police ran a recruitment drive for African youths. This included a trip to Goulburn Police Academy. This initiative aimed to increase CALD community members in the police force.
NSW Police Priorities for Working within a Culturally, Linguistically and Religiously Diverse Society and Ethnic Affairs Priorities Statement (EAPS) Forward Plan 2006-9
 This publication is intended to enhance the level of internal and external awareness of the issues impacting contemporary policing. This reflects the need to successfully operate in a culturally, linguistically and religiously diverse community, and to provide culturally competent services. The guide provides detailed examples, scenarios and situations through which to explain how culturally competent policing may best be achieved. The EAPS forward plan identifies 5 key areas on which the plan is focused. The identified areas will be further developed building on work already done by the NSW Police and which reflect community needs.

Consultations with Coffs Harbour Sudanese Community
 Consultations were conducted regarding particular interests, experiences and difficulties of the community. A workshop was carried out to facilitate access to relevant services, which helped to develop an integrated service response to emerging communities.

The consultation process, coordinated by the NSWP cultural diversity team, included:
  • A round table discussion with service providers from government and non-government organisations in the Coffs Harbour area to map service and support issues from the perspective of working with the emerging Sudanese community.
  • Meeting with members of the local Sudanese community to directly hear their issues and concerns facing the community. In preparing for this, the NSW Police Cultural Diversity Team (CDT) spoke with service providers working with African communities in the Sydney metropolitan area to compare issues and devise the most effective way of engaging culturally with the local community
  • Discussing with police officers in the Coffs/Clarence LAC the sorts of incidents that create concern for them in working with members of the Sudanese community and, through their own experiences, workshopping the skills and supports that would assist them to effectively manage diversity. The consultation was followed up with a written questionnaire completed by police officers.
  • Meeting with Aboriginal Community Liaison Officers from Coffs/Clarence LAC to explore issues between the local Aboriginal and Sudanese communities that contributed to a sense of community disharmony and police intervention.
Best Interests of the Child Program
 The NSWP have been invited to participate in this Family Court initiative. This program seeks to combat a lack of understanding especially in non-English speaking communities, and amongst new migrants and refugees about how Australian laws directly impact family relations.
Cultural diversity helpline
 A cultural diversity helpline has been set up to provide timely advice to local area and specialist commands in relation to issues of cultural, linguistic and religious diversity.
Police Partnership with the Lebanese Moslem Association (LMA)
 This partnership was particularly important in the aftermath of the El-Chami Batch murder in claming community tensions. A shrine erected at the bus-interchange where the murder occurred was sensitively removed by members of the LMA, police from Arabic-speaking backgrounds, and Batch family members as it was a focus of emotion and hostility, with the potential to escalate into further violence. The overall handling of the El-Chami Batch murder saw a marked improvement on the part of police and more effective and culturally competent response overall.
Integrated Case Management Model
 This model, (an outcome of findings from the Youth Partnership and Arabic speaking community’s project by the Premier’s Department), aims to address the needs of young people from the Arabic speaking communities who are at serous risk of offending. Objectives include:
  • Diverting ‘at risk’ young people away from the criminal justice system.
  • Developing mechanisms for reporting and evaluation in collaboration with relevant academic and industry experts.
  • Capturing relevant qualitative and quantitative data illustrating the extent of and the reasons for the involvement of young people of Arabic backgrounds in crime.
Prejudice motivated crime reporting
 The NSW Police Force, under its EAPS Forward Plan 2006-2009 will facilitate greater consistency in the way that prejudice related incidences are identified, recorded and analysed to inform crime prevention, reduction and investigation strategies.
Issues Impacting Arabic-Speaking Communities in Auburn Local Area Command (LAC)
 Flemington LAC implemented plans to clearly identify the issues that impact on the relationship between Arabic-Speaking communities in Auburn LAC and the police.
Projects included:
  • Neighbourhood visits allowing for face-to-face interaction in a positive environment.
  • A police and community forum.
  • Unplanned meetings with youth discussing police roles, procedures and initiatives, which gave young people an opportunity to voice concerns of police discrimination.
  • Parents meeting with the commission to facilitate trust and communication.
  • Informal communications with community members helped develop rapport in the community.
Examples of networks formed by LACs
 Rosehill LAC has helped to establish a network of African communities under the auspice of the Granville Multicultural Community Centre to consult African youth on issues around education and employment and provide appropriate support. From its early days the network has grown into a forum which now embraces members from African communities in Blacktown, Auburn, Granville, Parramatta and Holroyd. Police officers from Rosehill LAC actively participate in the network.

Macquarie Fields and Campbelltown LACs jointly convene the Arabic Community Advisory Committee and Fijian, Samoan and Tongan Steering Committees to promote better awareness of community safety, crime prevention and positive police relationships with communities.

Police and Community Working Together: an advisory committee to Flemington LAC concerned with issues impacting on its relationship with diverse local communities.
Liverpool police and community workers consultation
 Liverpool LAC conducted consultations with community workers in the LAC to assess the needs of local populations from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. The specific focus of the consultations was the information needs of non-English speaking communities relating to the law and policing in Liverpool.
The consultation yielded strategies and recommendations around the areas that are central to making information non-English speaking communities available and effective. They include:
  • Community consultation;
  • Police and community networking;
  • Translated materials;
  • Media promotion and relationships;
  • Joint police and community projects and funding;
  • Community education; and
  • Training for police.
Positive Identities Of Muslim Women in St George
 St George LAC conducted consultations with Muslim women in the St George area on their experiences, including experiences of crime, in the local area. The consultations clearly demonstrated that Muslim women were facing negative responses in the community based on stereotypes of their cultural background, religion or both. In response to these findings, funding was received from the Community Relations Commission (CRC) to design and run a program to promote cultural and religious harmony and understanding, particularly with respect to Islam and its community profile. The program was titled Positive Identities of Muslim Women in St George and primarily involved local women sharing stories of success and positive experiences to build a sense of community participation and counteract negative understandings of Islam in the local community.
Fairfield Police and Community Forum
 This forum was established as a mechanism through which to consult with the community. The aim of the forum was to strengthen police and community relations through consultations, networking and creating measures to address mutual concerns.
Flemington Friendly Comps
 Flemington LAC has organised friendly sporting competitions between police officers and young people from identified communities. In particular, soccer tournaments were organised between police and young people from Turkish and African backgrounds.
Flemington Relationships with Police, Parents, Children
 The project based in Flemington LAC focuses on the interrelationships between young people and police, the role of parents in determining relationships between their children and police and parents’ own relationships with the police. The target audiences are local police, Arabic speaking, Turkish and Korean communities. To explore these issues, a training package is being developed for police and families comprising a video, training notes and information and a facilitated workshop model. The video will focus on:
  • Policing domestic violence;
  • Break, enter and steal offences;
  • Truancy;
  • ‘Move along’ directions; and
  • Traffic offences.
An Engagement of Understanding
 This annual ‘quiz’ style forum allows for young people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, their parents and local service providers to explore issues around law and order. Officers from Rosehill LAC participate centrally in the preparation and delivery of the forum. During the forum, police officers are present to provide information and answer the audience’s questions on laws affecting young people and parents, police roles and procedures and general issues around improved relationships between police, young people from diverse backgrounds and their families. The participation of Rosehill LAC has been formally recognised and will continue on an annual basis.
Holroyd Safety and Police Career Expo
 Holroyd LAC organised and hosted the Holroyd Safety and Police Career Expo, which was held over two days at Merrylands Stockland Mall with the involvement of NSW Police Recruitment Branch and NSW Fire Brigades. Information was disseminated in English and community languages on various topics including crime prevention and community safety, emergency management, community health, road safety and the role of police and emergency services. The ECLO participated in Arabic Carnival 2005 by staffing a stall with police officers offering information on policing, crime prevention and other policing topics in Arabic and English.
Fairfield Safety Seminars
 Five safety seminars were delivered in August 2005 to Villawood residents focusing on boundaries between Fairfield and Bankstown LACs, contacting police, reporting crime and home and personal safety. The five seminars were presented in English, Vietnamese, Cantonese, Arabic and Spanish. Nine sessions on the role of police in Australia, reporting crime, crime prevention, police and the law, violent behaviour, parking and infringements were presented to Fairfield Australian Centre for Languages ACL students in Arabic, Assyrian, Dinka, Vietnamese, Mandarin and English (for mixed language groups).
Flemington: Religious and Police Communication
 Religious organisations were accessed to communicate information to particular groups from diverse backgrounds on topics ranging from domestic violence to reporting crime and the role of police. Targeted sessions included:
  • The Arabic speaking congregation of Auburn Mosque.
Domestic Violence
 The Wollongong ECLO has addressed Turkish and Arabic speaking women’s groups on issues of domestic violence and safety.
Radio
NSWPF ECLOs frequently use SBS Radio, including SBS Arabic radio and 2000FM Arabic radio to promote policing services, the ECLO program and local initiatives, personal and home safety tips, crime prevention information and means of contacting police including ‘000’, the Police Assistance Line, Crime Stoppers and local police station numbers. Radio 2ME, a 24-hour Arabic broadcast station also features a regular half-hour program on community policing including the role and activities of ECLOs, policing as a career, crime prevention, safety awareness and reporting crime.
Paving the Way- Strengthening Relationships between NSW Police and Emerging Communities
Holroyd LAC and Baulkham Hills Holroyd Parramatta Migrant Resource Centre produced a report presenting findings from a survey that focused on crime prevention and early intervention within newly arrived community groups. The survey allowed members of emerging communities to express their concerns and views about their understanding of policing in Australia. This has enabled this LAC to gain a greater depth of insight into the needs and concerns of emerging communities in their area so that the police and these communities can plan effective partnership responses to fighting and preventing crime in this LAC.

Findings. Emerging communities;
  • Generally have a lack of knowledge about their rights, responsibilities and obligations under the law;
  • May misinterpret police procedures and actions;
  • Find it difficult to communicate due to language, cultural and social barriers;
  • There is an overwhelming ‘thirst’ for knowledge about the legal system and law enforcement in Australia;
  • Many felt a trust in the police;
  • Feel that individual attitudes and behaviours of police and community members play a big role in ensuring positive interactions and intervention;
  • Wish for a conciliatory approach when dealing with conflict;
  • Highlight the importance of religious and community leaders;
  • Disadvantage of women due to settlement challenges; and
  • Racial violence is of concern.

Recommendations:
  • Community policing awareness: through information and education programs on rights and responsibilities.
  • Educational media to enhance police-community relationships.
  • Partnership policing: establishing links between schools, youth centres, community organisations, and leaders, both formal and informal activities.
  • Cross-cultural awareness training for police officers.
  • Community harmony: breaking down stereotypes and misunderstanding.
  • Police liaison officers.
  • Recruitment from these communities.
Engaging the Afghani Muslim Community
 The Granville and Parramatta LAC’s are currently involved in an initiative with leaders from the Afghani Mosque, the Nabi Akram Centre, to engage the Afghani Muslim Community. The initiative will involve a number of presentations to the community with a focus on road safety. Presentations focusing on domestic violence and personal safety have already been given to Afghani women. Community radio sessions have been planned for the future.
September 2006
Parramatta High School
 The ECLO from Parramatta LAC has been involved in resolving issues involving Muslim boys at Parramatta High School. This has provided a good opportunity to build trust and communication networks between these boys and the Parramatta police.
Involvement with the Nabi Akram Centre
 Granville Police have a long history of association and cooperation with the Nabi Akram Centre. The centre is the main religious organisation of the Shiite Muslims in Sydney. Police have participated in many of their initiatives such as a seminar and workshop on the harmful aspects of drugs, road safety issues, domestic violence, seminars on an anti-terrorist theme and occasions marking important events in Muslim calendar.
Involvement with the Granville Islamic Youth Association
 Granville police work with this organisation in many different ways; for example, in times of crisis such as during the arrest of terrorist suspects in Sydney and other cities in Australia as well as during periods of tension generated by political situations in the Middle East. The organisation is currently involved in two projects:
  • educating young people from Lebanese background in matters of crime, drug abuse and safe driving.
  • Religion and Family Harmony; a project focused on domestic violence.
Association with the Charitable Islamic Association of the City of Beirut
 The organisation has helped police in settling neighbourhood disputes in the LAC and participates in LAC PACT meetings. Police take an active part in various meetings and forums organised by the organisation.
POLICE AND COMMUNITY YOUTH CLUB COFFS HARBOUR
Harmony Puppet Project in partnership with
Living in Harmony
 This project was developed to engage youth from diverse backgrounds (Indigenous, Sudanese and other migrants) in activities as a response to stereotyping and conflict. Through a series of art workshops targeting youth from a variety of cultural backgrounds, young people work together to explore their experiences of discrimination. They developed puppets and a script for a show based on themes of racism and harmony that they identified. The young people were to be supported by a range of community groups working together and the issues raised were to be discussed at a public community forum. The young people performed the puppet show at primary schools as a prompt for classroom discussion on the issues.
2005
NSW LAW AND JUSTICE FOUNDATION
Protecting Human
Rights in Australia
 The Foundation provided grants to the Public Interest Advocacy Centre for the translation of the community education kit, Protecting Human Rights in Australia into Arabic, Vietnamese and Chinese to ensure that these communities have access to the information. The translations allow people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds to access information about human rights, and additionally support nation-wide training to equip individuals and community groups to participate effectively in human rights discussion. The education kit includes information in Arabic about:
  • Human Rights protection in Australia
  • Discrimination (Age)
  • Civil and political rights
  • Racial and religious discrimination
  • Refugees and asylum seekers
  • Women’s rights
Domestic violence is not OK and
Apprehended Violence Orders
 This Project was developed by the Immigrant Women’s Speakout Association Inc. Migrant and refugee women coming to Australia are often unaware that domestic violence is a crime and that services are available for the victims. Low literacy and lack of information in their own language are major barriers to awareness. There are few print/online resources on domestic violence for new and emerging communities and no audio resources. The project developed two plays on domestic violence, Domestic violence is not OK and Apprehended Violence Orders, which were broadcasted on SBS radio in Dinka, Sudanese Arabic, Somali, Kriol and Dari. The plays have been recorded on CD and published on their website. The Centre will distribute the CDs, accompanied by an English transcript, to service providers and to SBS and community radio stations. By raising awareness, the project aims to contribute to reducing the incidence of domestic violence in new and emerging communities.
Terrorism laws ASIO, the police and you
 Anti-terrorism laws booklet in community languages, developed by UTS Community Law Centre. This project aims to provide people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, recent migrants, refugees and Islamic communities with targeted information about anti-terrorism laws in their own language. Since the book’s launch in 2004 3000 copies have been distributed and ongoing demand for copies has been high. The Foundation grant will support an update of the booklet and translation into Arabic, Indonesian and Urdu. The translations will be available in hard copy and online:
www.law.uts.edu.au/clc/projects/ASIO_police.html
Taking Orders - Apprehended Violence Orders in NSW
The resource comprises a sub-titled video and accompanying translated booklet, and is aimed both at female victims of domestic violence and the service providers who assist them. The first part of the video and booklet follows three women through the AVO process, showing different outcomes, while the second part illustrates the legal process. The videos provide subtitles in Arabic and Vietnamese.
Justice Made to Measure: NSW Legal Needs Survey in Disadvantaged Areas
 Comprehensive research into the legal needs of disadvantaged populations in NSW. Many of the areas surveyed in this report have a large Muslim community presence.
NSW OMBUDSMAN
Workshops on police and community relationships
 This workshop on 'strategic relationships' aims to inform the community about the role of the Ombudsman, particularly in handling complaints about police and their function in legislative review. The workshop is open to community groups, especially those having a relationship with police.
Information Sheet
 General information available in Arabic: Making a complaint to the Ombudsman, see: www.ombo.nsw.gov.au
COMMUNITY RELATIONS COMMISSION FOR A MULTICULTURAL NSW
Hotline
A telephone hotline was established on 13 September 2001 to assist community members experiencing problems resulting from the attacks on September 11. Initially, a 24 hour Arabic hotline was set up and from 14 November 2001 a Punjabi language line was open from 5pm- 9pm. In the first 5 weeks following September 11, Arabic and Punjabi hotlines received 400 calls. Around 13% of callers had contacted police by the time they contacted the hotline. There were some complaints about police responses. Evidence collected through the hotline suggested that the events of September 11 impacted heavily on community relations in NSW. Calls to the hotline tapered off significantly after 5 weeks. In October 2002 in response to the Bali bombings and throughout the lead up to and outbreak of hostilities in Iraq, community members had the capacity to report incidents of abuse, insult or discrimination to the Commission via the hotline as well as via email.
2001
2002
Community Harmony Crisis Management Plan
 The Community Harmony Reference group was formed as a response to the 2002 Bali Bombings to ensure a coordinated and rapid response to any community relations issue arising from the events. The Reference group recommended that the Commission develop a Community Relations Crisis Management Plan to maintain and manage community harmony in NSW following local and international events which may strain community relations. The reference group included a senior NSW police officer, as well as representatives from Islamic and Arabic groups, and Turkish groups.
Initiatives included:
  • Fact sheets to deal with bomb threats and threatening phone calls published in Arabic, Turkish, Indonesian and Urdu. This was implemented directly in conjunction with NSW Police
  • Better community access to information regarding the Terrorist (Police Powers) Act 2002 (NSW)
AUSTRALIAN MUSLIM CIVIL RIGHT ADVOCACY NETWORK (AMCRAN)
Workshops
Conducts community legal educations sessions that have been attended by more than 350 people. It also provides legal information to community and religious leaders and conducts courses on broader areas of law of interest of the Muslim community, such as racial and religious vilification.
Seminars
For example: a seminar by Dr Ben Saul (UNSW), AMCRAN Seminar on the Anti-Terrorism Act (No 2) 2005 (NSW), Bankstown Town Hall.
Submissions
 Submissions in regard to the new state and territory detentions powers and other newly introduced legislation. Recent submissions have focused on the new terrorist legislation, especially in regards to holding powers. Submissions have also covered areas such as existing police powers and federal police powers.
Racial Discrimination and Vilification Law Training Course
 Racial Discrimination and Vilification Law Seminar for members of the community, including those who work actively within the Muslim community. There were approximately 25 attendees including lawyers, law students, professionals, local council members, and youth workers from Muslim women’s organisations.
2005
Anti-Terrorism information kit
AMCRAN’s major project was the publication of the booklet Terrorism Laws: ASIO, the Police and You, in co-operation with the UTS Community Law Centre and the New South Wales Council for Civil Liberties in June 2004. The booklet explains people’s rights and responsibilities under Australia’s anti-terrorism legislation and attempts to answer general questions about the legislation. The booklet also outlines the powers of the AFP and ASIO and the rights and responsibilities of the person/people involved. Four thousand copies were produced and distributed at various events to organisations and individuals all around Australia. The booklet can be downloaded from AMCRAN’s web site. A second edition of the booklet was released in 2005 and production of the third edition is underway.
2004, 2005, revision underway
Forum
 AMCRAN frequently presents at and attends forums. For example: An AMCRAN Forum was held in conjunction with Illawarra Muslim Women’s Association. Agnes Chong from Australian Muslim Civil Rights Advocacy Network provided information about the new anti-terror laws, including ASIO’s power to detain and question a person for up to seven days if it may provide the agency with information on a terrorist offence. The forum covered issues such as a detainee’s rights and where to obtain legal advice. It also provided members of the community with an opportunity to participate in the review of those laws.
Newsletter
 Newsletters and media bulletins on the website provide up to date information and articles concerning issues that AMCRAN are involved in. Articles published include Why Every Muslim Should Be Concerned About The Proposed New Anti-Terror Laws. This article addresses police powers, ASIO powers and human rights issues. More information is available at: www.amcran.org
NSW ANTI-DISCRIMINATION BOARD
(NSWADB)
Arabic and Islamic Community Education Initiative
 Two Arabic speaking education officers were appointed to the NSWADB for a six month term to work with Arabic and Islamic communities on a range of projects aimed at combating anti-Arabic and anti-Islamic sentiment. Projects included developing an education kit, providing education sessions in communities and preparing informative material in Arabic to assist Arabic speakers to deal with harassment and discrimination. The team conducted 26 community training sessions addressing 1 672 individuals, mostly in Arabic. There were 6 training sessions for community workers and service providers with 173 participants, as well as attendance at information days at Migrant Resource Centres and informal networking. The team also produced a referral poster to assist community workers to refer clients appropriately when they are dealing with discrimination matters.
Multilingual fact sheets
 Multilingual Fact sheets are available in Arabic, Farsi, Indonesian, Swahili and Turkish amongst languages.
See:www.lawlink.nsw.gov.au/lawlink/adb/ll_adb.nsf/
pages/adb_community_languages
Race for the Headlines: Racism and Media Discourse
 This report discusses the ways in which race related issues are manifested in the media. The report proposes a series of recommendations one of which is that a forum is held on the use of ethnic descriptors by the police and the media and that the NSW Police implement a comprehensive program for all police officers involved on collecting and recording hate crime data.
NSW PREMIER'S DEPARTMENT WITH INVOLVEMENT FROM CRC FOR A MULTICULTURAL NSW, NSW DET, NSW DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNITY SERVICES, NSW POLICE, BANKSTOWN HEALTH AND THE UNIVERSITY OF WESTERN SYDNEY
Youth Partnership with Arabic Speaking Communities
 The project is a joint initiative between community representatives from Arabic speaking communities, business leaders and the State Government. The Partnership has three objectives:
  • Promote the well being of young people from Arabic speaking backgrounds
  • Increase parent support and education to help prevent risk taking behaviour
  • Provide children and young people with better learning opportunities and recreational activities for long term personal development
The project primarily focuses on a population of 110,000 people of Arabic speaking background living in 10 Local Government Areas in Sydney's West and South-West. 17 projects, programs and initiatives have been funded under the auspices of the Youth Partnership with Arabic Speaking Communities project. A broad range of specific programs are managed by six NSW government agencies and cover five key areas:
  • Youth Liaison Teams who interact with young people in places where they gather and try to make positive connections with young people or situations where young people may take part in anti-social or risk-taking behaviour
  • Education initiatives to strengthen school and community relations, reduce truancy and behavioural problems and assist young people with learning.
  • Parent support to ensure resources are appropriate and accessible to the needs of Arabic speaking families and facilitate specific initiatives to raise awareness and improve services to parents and families to help them parent
  • Aiming to engage young people in sport, recreation and cultural initiatives to reduce boredom and develop confidence and self-esteem
  • Establishment of a Community Trust where community and corporate sponsorships can be obtained for specific projects (in addition to the funds allocated by the NSW Government) .
Police and Community Youth Clubs (PCYC)
Under the NSW Premier’s Arabic Youth Partnership, PCYC in Parramatta, St George, Belmore, Bankstown and Burwood receive funding to conduct programs specifically designed for young people from Arabic speaking background. The funding is channelled through the Department of Sport and Recreation.
For more information see: www.youthpartnership.nsw.gov.au
NSW PREMIER'S DEPARTMENT
Canterbury-Bankstown Place Project
This project involves a range of government agencies working together in response to youth issues in the Canterbury and Bankstown Local Government Areas. It is coordinated by the Communities Division in the Department of Community Services. The project aims to address issues identified by the community:
  • Crime and community Safety
  • Family support
  • Youth support and mentoring
  • Alcohol and other drugs
  • School attendance and retention
  • Employment
  • Community harmony between diverse cultures
  • Improve coordination of Government services

For more information see:
www.communitybuilders.nsw.gov.au/
solutions/canterbury/can.html
ST. GEORGE MIGRANT RESOURCE CENTRE, IN PARTNERSHIP WITH ROCKDALE CITY COUNCIL AND ST. GEORGE POLICE
Seminar
 A seminar, Understanding Arabic Speaking Communities in the St. George Area, was conducted for all service providers working with Arabs and Muslims living in the St George area.
Website
 Available in Arabic, Bosnian, Chinese, Eritrean, Greek, Indonesian, Italian, Macedonian, Philippines, Spanish.
UNITED MUSLIM WOMEN'S ASSOCIATION INC.
Cross-cultural/ Religious awareness seminars
 The MWA delivers cross-cultural awareness training sessions for service providers from local, state and federal agencies whose clients include Muslim women. In 2002, the MWA, with support from Bankstown City Council (Community Grants Program) delivered several sessions to local service providers. In 2003, MWA conducted over 100 cross cultural/religious training/information sessions to schools, community and women's health centres, sexual assault services, Centrelink offices, Legal Aid offices, Councils, TAFEs and universities and police services.
For more information see: www.mwa.org.au/SEMINAR.htm
WOLLONGONG CITY COUNCIL
Living in Harmony Project: Different faiths one vision
 Wollongong received a grant from DIMA for their project, Different Faiths One Vision. This initiative was designed to strengthen community harmony and combat racism. The project promotes interfaith understanding and introduces resources which can be used to encourage the interfaith community. Resources include: bringing these issues into the classroom, interfaith issues for young children, interfaith mapping, deep listening, and interfaith gatherings. The project also provides fact sheets of all faith groups in the council area.
YOUTH ACTION & POLICY ASSOCIATION NSW
Resource Manual and Self-Paced Learning Package for Shopping Centre and Security Guards
 The package is an educational resource for shopping centre security guards and youth workers alike to help them better understand and respond to young people. The package has a number of exercises (with answers provided in the back), that individual security guards can work through. The comprehensive package can also help youth workers who might be invited to help train local shopping centre security guards. The information provided is easily adapted for use in face-to-face training, although the self-paced style also allows guards from companies who might not be able to afford (money or time) to access the information.
Available at: www.yapa.org.au/youth/facts/securityresource.php
NSW Youth Shopping Centre Protocol Project
 Creating the Space for Dialogue: The Report, by Garner Clancey, Sally Doran, Don Robertson. This report supports the guide, Developing a local youth shopping centre protocol. The report also provides a more detailed discussion of issues associated with young people and shopping centres.
Available at: www.yapa.org.au/yapa/policy/
shoppingprotocolreport.pdf
Issues for Young Refugees
 This fact sheet outlines some common issues that face young refugees. There is acknowledgement of the difficulty that some young refugees have with the police due to negative experiences with the police and militia in their country of origin.
THE AUSTRALIAN LEBANESE WELFARE GROUP
Young people, domestic violence, conflict and crime
 Emad, M. 2001, Young people, domestic violence, conflict and crime, Sydney: The Australian Lebanese Welfare Group, p70: The aim of this report is to look into violence experienced by young people of Arabic-speaking background aged between 12 and 26 years. More specifically, the report explores young people’s views and experiences of conflict and violence as well as their needs and expectations in regard to family and social life in Australia, with an emphasis on investigating areas of potential conflict or tension between young people, parents and the police.
2001
THE AUSTRALIAN PALESTINIAN CULTURAL LEAGUE
Attitude of young Australian Arabic people towards teenage dropouts and delinquency issues
 The report shows that there is a link between an increase in the number of Arabic-speaking background youth dropping out from schools and the high level of violent and criminal behaviour found amongst them. The report examines the impact that this problem is having on migrant families coming from Lebanon and other Arabic countries.
2001
THE NESB YOUTH ISSUES NETWORK
Issues Affecting Refugee Young People: Briefing Paper
 The paper identifies the main legal and justice issues refugee young people are encountering. These include poor relationships with the police, security guards and transit officers and a lack of understanding of Australian laws.

The paper calls for greater access to appropriate forms of information as to explaining how to report being a victim of crime or how to report complaints, gaining better understanding of the roles of police, security guards and transit officers by refugee young people and developing a better awareness of the issues faced by refugee young people by police, security guards and transit officers. Addressing these issues will improve these strained relationships and help to build a sense of trust between the parties.
March 2005
UNIVERSITY of Western Sydney (UWS)
MICHAEL KENNEDY
Zero Tolerance and the Arabic Speaking Young People
An extended literature review on the effect that zero tolerance policing—has had on disadvantaged communities. The literature review particularly focuses on the effect such policies have had on young people from the Arabic speaking community. The thesis argues that zero tolerance policing as an organisational strategy is counter-productive.
COLLINS, J., NOBLE, G. POYNTING, S AND TABOR, P
Kebab, kids, Cops and Crime
 A research book analysing and documenting the complexities of ethnicity, racialisation, youth and crime. The writers present evidence supporting their findings on crime and ethnicity to address the issue of ‘ethnic youth gangs’ in Sydney. The research draws on economics, sociology, anthropology and cultural studies methodologies and interviews with police, parents, community workers, community leaders and youth from Lebanese-background.
Bin Laden in the Suburb: Criminalising the Arab Other
 This book examines public worry over ‘ethnic crime’ and what it tells us about Australia today. How did the airborne terror attacks on the USA on 11 September 2001 exacerbate existing tendencies in Australia to stereotype Arabs and Muslims as backward, inassimilable, without respect for Western laws and values, and complicit with barbarism and terrorism?
ISLAMIC FOUNDATION FOR EDUCATION AND WELFARE INC.
Reflections: The interfaith youth workshop
 Living in Harmony Project: To promote interfaith understanding, this project will establish an interfaith youth committee in the Fairfield local government area, in consultation with religious leaders and representatives. Religious and cultural workshops will be provided to the young people to build understanding of shared values. The workshops will provide material that will be developed into an interfaith youth kit. The kit will include a reflection manual, diary, report and CD ROM. Copies will be produced and distributed to local community organisations and schools, in some cases accompanied by visits by the young people to talk about the project.
VICTORIA POLICE
Arabic Language and Culture Course for police officers
 A training course on Arabic Culture and Language that targets Victoria Police. This 4 day course been developed in partnership with the Victoria Police Multicultural Affairs Unit (MAU) and is delivered by The Victorian Arabic Social Services (VASS). It enables participants to gain a better understanding of the Arab world, history, geography, Arabic migration to Australia, traditions and customs, and issues of concern to women, youth, men and the elderly. Police officers learn about the system of policing in Arabic countries, and to try and devise strategies for better relations with the Arabic community in Victoria. The course also includes 4 hours of introduction to the Arabic language and some basic Arabic words and conversation. A training course was delivered in May 2004 to members and police officers of Cobram Police Station in an attempt to strengthen the links between police and the region's Iraqi community. Similar sessions continued to be held. For more information see: http://www.vass.org.au/CrossCulturalTraining.html
Victoria Police also offers an Arabic Language and Culture for Police Officers course on a needs basis across the Victoria Police
Various Initiatives
Following the commencement of the war on Iraq, Victoria Police took a number of steps to minimise racially/religious motivated incidents and deal more effectively with such incidents reported to police.
Formal Consultations with Multicultural Liaison Officers (MLOs), MAU and community
 Formal consultations by all Regional Assistant Commissioners, MLOs and the Victoria Police MAU, with groups and communities likely to be affected by the war in Iraq or other related incidents prompted by domestic or overseas events.
Operating instructions to respond to racial incidents
 Victoria Police issued formal operating instructions on how to respond effectively to racially/religious motivated incidents. This included the development of a poster of a flow chart of complaint processes for racial and religious vilification placed in all police stations all over Victoria.
Register of racial incidents
 Victoria Police, in cooperation with multicultural communities, initiated a Register that records racially/religious motivated incidents. The Register aims to record all such incidents reported to police through internal police data and community information. Groups and communities identified as more vulnerable to vilification were invited to provide direct input into the Register. These included Islamic Council of Victoria (ICV), Australian Arabic Council (AAC), The Victorian Arabic Social Services (VASS) and the Islamic Women's Welfare Council of Victoria (IWWCV). At the time of writing this report the initiative is not known to be operational.
Designing
Hijab for police
 Victoria Police have worked to design a hijab as part of police uniform for new Muslim women recruits who wear the hijab.
Victoria Police - Region 3
Multicultural Liaison Officers (MLO) Portfolio (P/F) Project
 The Victoria Police Region 3 Multicultural Liaison Office has a partnership with the local Migrant Resource Centre, where it undertakes a range of initiatives, including a leadership program for young youths seeking to undertake a range of careers, including policing.
Multicultural Liaison Units Flyer
Working with Victoria’s Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Communities. Available in English and Arabic
Ashura Celebrations
 Victoria Police participated in Ashura Muslim celebrations.
Police Conduct Unit Ethical Standard Department
Information on the Police Conduct Unit is available in a range of new and emerging languages. These include Dinka, Somali, Amharic, and Nuer. This information details the services, roles, and procedures relating to this area of Victoria Police.
Liberty Vs. Security: A Necessary Trade Off?
 Monash University, in partnership with Victoria Police, conducted a forum examining the legislative and policy environment relevant to counter-terrorist policing.
Ramadan activities
Working with Carlton Parkville Youth Services and Carlton YMCA
Senior Constable Nick Parissis of Carlton police has been named the Victoria Police Youth Officer of the Year for coordinating the Carlton Ramadan festivities for Muslim faith.
Police, media and Islamic community forum
 Victoria Police and Monash University administered a public forum with members of the Islamic community and media organisations.
The forum was created to establish dialogue between media representatives and the community, and to facilitate communication between them.
Muslims community Police Officers initiatives
 Senior Constable Kerry Sipthorpe, a traffic management policewoman received an award for her work with multicultural communities, particularly Muslims. The Multicultural Policing Award recognised her efforts to improve understanding and relationships between police and Muslim youths.
Community Consultation
 In a proactive policing initiative between the local Manningham Council and Doncaster police, Sen Const Sipthorpe reached out to Doncaster’s many multicultural communities, including Greek, Chinese, Muslim and Macedonian. Sen Const Sipthorpe hoped the youths would think of police as being approachable. To help engender relations between the two groups, police and Muslim youths attended a soccer match between Turkey and Australia.  In partnership with VASS, VIC Police took 15 local Muslim youths on a five-day High Challenge camp.  This was a significant activity particularly for four Muslim girls as it marked their first time away from home.
Response to racial hatred crimes
 The Law Enforcement Assistance Program (LEAP) system enables Victoria Police members to record instances where a crime has been motivated wholly or partially by prejudice relating to homophobia, physical / mental illness, political issues, race/ ethnic issues, or religious beliefs.
Crime Stopper multilingual
Brochures help to empower non-English speaking communities to use crime stoppers and provide them with avenues for access. Information is available in more than 20 different languages and is also accessible on the internet
Ramadan Dinner Initiative
 Victoria Police in partnership with the Victorian Multicultural Commission and Australian Intercultural Society, organised a Ramadan dinner in 2005 and 2006. This brought faith leaders and Victoria Police members from across the organisation together to discuss issues of mutual interest.
Attending Mosque Services
 Victoria Police members regularly visit mosques, including during the period of Ramadan, to increase their understanding of Islam. The occasions are also viewed as a time when community members may be able to learn further about the role of Police and the services that are available.
Newport community Police Award
 Newport Islamic Mosque and Muslim youth presented a plaque representing the 99 attributes of Allah as a friendship token to Altona North Police Station.
Mentoring program
 The Victoria Police are currently involved in the planning stages of a Muslim Mentoring Program which is being facilitated via the offices of Whitelion.
Victoria Police Multifaith Council
 The Victoria Police Multifaith Council was launched in 2005. It comprises of senior faith and Victoria Police members who meet quarterly or a needs basis to discuss issues of mutual interest. The Council has proved to be a valuable conduit for Islamic groups to express issues of concern or interest.
Victorian School of Languages Arabic Course
 The course was developed in partnership with the Victorian School of Languages. It was taught as a Certificate II course and ran for a six month period, on a part time basis. Approximately 12 members of Victoria Police graduated at the end of 2006.
Information card
In partnership with the Victorian Multicultural Commission, Victoria Police are developing an Information Card (in the format of a fridge magnet) which on one side will contain information about Police procedures, law and order, and information about complaints making, personal safety, and emergency contacts written in Arabic. On the other side of this magnet will be basic information about the local Arabic speaking background community, written in English and specific to police.
Anti-terrorism laws seminar
 The Victoria Police, Victorian Multicultural Commission, and the Victorian Equal Opportunity Commission have conducted a series of information sessions designed to increase knowledge and understanding of relevant anti-terrorist legislation.

New and Emerging Communities Grants
 New and Emerging Communities Grants have been used over the course of 2005 and 2006 to assist with funding activities that bring Victoria Police members and local communities together in specific activities. The Grants are a joint initiative of Victoria Police and the Victorian Multicultural Commission.

Examples of such initiatives have included:
  • the Ramadan Community Dinner in Shepparton;
  • youth programs in the Northern suburbs of Melbourne during Ramadan;
  • a drug and substance abuse awareness project with the Somali Cultural Association;
  • a youth camp with participants from Flemington, the local Police, and the Moonee Valley City Council;
  • Turkish community road safety production; and
  • a Ramadan Soccer Program in Carlton.

Memorandum Of Understanding (MOU) with Equal Opportunity Commission of Victoria (EOCV) on offences under the Racial and Religious Tolerance Act (RRTA)
 In 2006, an MOU was signed between Dr Helen Szoke (EOCV) and Chief Commissioner of Police Christine Nixon (VICPOL) that ratified how matters pertaining to offences against the RRTA would be handled. Briefly that MOU agreed:
  • Victoria Police would be the investigating body for offences and all reports of cases reported to EOCV would be forwarded to VICPOL via the Equity & Conflict Resolution Unit.
  • Victoria Police would provide a response to EOCV on the result of investigations

Victoria Police would provide trending analysis on matters that are reported against the RRTA & provide this analysis to EOCV.
VICTORIA LEGAL AID LAWYERS AND LEGAL SERVICES
Flyer
 Flyers in Arabic provide information about Victorian Legal Aid, legal consultation, providing legal aid, confidentiality, tribunal and interpreting services
DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE VICTORIA
VICTIMS SUPPORT AGENCY
Information Sheets
The Department makes information sheets available in a variety of languages including Arabic. The information sheets currently available in languages other than English include:
  • Who Is a Victim of Crime?
  • What happens if I Need to Go to Court?
  • Applying for an Intervention Order
  • Financial Assistance for Victims of crime
  • Local Support
  • Reporting Crime
  • Victims of Crime Help line (Information Card)
AUSTRALIAN ARABIC COUNCIL (AAC)
Ethnicity Crime in NSW: Politics, Rhetoric and Ethnic Descriptors
 This article outlines the AAC’s growing concern about the rising level of rhetoric linking Arabic culture with criminal activity. For more information see: www.aac.org.au/resources.php
The Arabs in World History Booklet.
A project funded by the AMF, Victorian Multicultural Commission (VMC), Healthy Communities and Victoria Premier's Drug and Prevention Council
 This booklet is one of many ongoing publications and projects that aims to combat ignorance regarding the Arabic language, culture, and highlight the rich history and positive contributions of Australians of Arabic background today. It accompanies other teaching resources on Arab history and the experiences of Arab and Indigenous youth in Australia. This booklet in