Police Stops in Norway: Public Controversies and Minority Status

There have been ongoing debates about police disproportionately stopping, controlling, and searching ethnic minorities, due to skin color or other external characteristics, since the 1980s. We have identified some of the key processes making police stops a public issue. One overarching issue is the lack of information about experiences of racial profiling and ethnic discrimination by the police. Further, the death of Eugene Ejike Obiora at the hands of the police in 2006 personified the public debate about institutional racism within the police and lack of control mechanisms. This led to further debate on police reform, the need for control mechanisms, and aspects of trust in the police. Together these debates had effects on governance, leadership, education, and training related to the practice of police stops, but not legislation. Finally, the extended use of territorial control and identity checks of non-citizens from 2010–2019 is analyzed as important to understand the public debate and experiences of young ethnic minority men in Norway.