Zoë James

Policing marginal spaces: Controlling Gypsies and Travellers

Community policing initiatives that aim to address diversity are increasingly required to engage with Gypsies and Travellers. In this article the policing of Gypsies and Travellers is outlined through analysis of empirical research in the south-west of England. The research shows that the police work with multiple public and private agencies to control the movement and settlement of Gypsies and Travellers, but the engagement of Gypsies and Travellers in community policing initiatives is limited. The police primarily engage with Gypsies and Travellers through enforcement practice. Gypsies and Travellers are shown here to respond to their experiences of policing in a number of ways that attempt to place them beyond the gaze of formal agencies. In conclusion the article questions the degree to which policing agencies can reach Gypsies and Travellers via community policing approaches.

Roma inclusion post Brexit: a challenge to existing rhetoric?

Purpose This paper proposes that the UKs exit from the EU is unlikely to impact heavily on the lived reality of Roma, given its negligible impact prior to Brexit. The paper sets out a critique of existing EU approaches to anti-Gypsyism that are based in discourses of racism and anti-nomadism and are typified in the EU hate crime agenda. The paper argues for recognition of the systemic social harms caused by discrimination against Roma in the EU and the commonality of their experience with other socially excluded groups that do not conform to the requirements of contemporary neoliberal capitalism. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach The paper comprises an opinion piece that sets out a critical examination of existing literature on policy and research in Romani studies and utilises theoretical work within criminology and social policy. Findings The paper explains the inability of existing EU approaches to tackle social harms experienced by Roma throughout the EU. In doing so it suggests that the UKs exit from the EU may not have a significant impact on Roma in the UK. Originality/value The paper challenges extant discourses and proposes new ways of thinking about anti-Gypsyism.