02.07.2014 Rroma and stereotypes: Rroma arrested because of organised copper theft

Certain (2014) and Labarre (2014) report on the arrest of seven Rroma in the Pays de la Loire. The detained persons are accused of having been involved in the theft and organised trafficking of copper. Most of the suspects live in an informal settlement Rroma in Saint-Herblain. The article suggests, as many before it, that hierarchical organised structures exist among Rroma and favour organised crime: “The network was ultra-hierarchised. With a boss, henchmen and assistants. In order to unravel the involvement of one or the other, and to investigate the black market, it took almost a year of investigation by the theft-brigade of Nantes. This was rewarded this week by eleven arrests, the majority in a Roma camp of Saint-Herblain, the hub of the commerce.” The stereotypes of organised, criminal Rroma clans persist. It has often been pointed out that this is not a Rroma-specific phenomenon and hierarchical structures are not part of Rroma culture. The reference to the ethnicity of the perpetrators is therefore completely unnecessary; it only encourages racial prejudice against members of the minority. Rroma are not more criminal than the representatives of other ethnic groups. Already in June, Le Matin (Grabet 2014) reported on the trial against three Serbian Rroma in Vevey, who are accused of being involved in the organised theft and black marketing of copper.