Utrecht police have been heavily criticised for labelling criminal suspects as being of “Moroccan” background following a number of street robberies which targetted children.
The city’s mayor, Jan van Zanen, came out late last week saying that he felt “regret” over the police use of the term saying, “in this case, the police could have omitted the word ‘Moroccan,’” broadcaster RTV Utrecht reports.
“It is not common to mention ethnicity in reports, except for missing people, where ethnicity is known and can help find a missing person, and the police strives to comply with what is as objective as possible,” he added.