02.04.2014 The Spiegel reinforces notions of criminal Rroma families

Lehberger (2014) reports on the indictment of several members of the Goman family, “a network of Roma clans related by blood or marriage, whose exact relationships gives headaches to authorities. Not all members of the group are criminal. A demarcation […] is a challenge due to complex family ties.” The defendants are alleged to have defrauded seniors of tens of thousands of Euro through deliberate fraud. The initial differentiation, that not all family members were involved in criminal activities, is soon after followed by mentioning the Mannheim investigation unit “Cash Down”. This police group is said to be specialized in the analysis of criminal structures among Roma clans. If this is true, the Mannheim police actually makes itself punishable. Investigations directly aimed at ethnicity are illegal. They violate the anti-discrimination legislation. The article further nourishes stereotypes of Rroma kings, who supposedly coordinate criminal activities. If Lehberger were not explicitly referring to ethnic peculiarities, discrediting of the described individuals would be understandable, due to the offenses they are accused of. However, in this fashion an inevitable connection between the events and ethnic membership to the Rroma is made, which unjustifiably discredits a whole minority.