Covert prejudice and negative perceptions towards minority groups are a significant problem for Australian communities, according to a new Australian study.

The Australian Community Capacity Study, led by University of Queensland criminologist, Dr Rebecca Wickes, was conducted among almost 10,000 Brisbane and Melbourne residents living across 300 suburbs.

The study results show that residents are more likely to perceive disorder — such as public drinking, loitering and drug use — when they over-estimate the number of ethnic minorities, in particular Muslims, and Indigenous Australians.

“The study found perceptions of neighbourhood crime and disorder are heightened when residents distort the number of non-Anglo Saxon living in their suburb,” said Dr Wickes of UQ's Institute for Social Science Research.

“It showed that when people see more ethnic diversity in their suburb, they see more disorder," she said.

"This is irrespective of the neighbourhood's socio-economic status and the rate of violent crime.”

It also found that residents in Brisbane were more likely to associate ethnic diversity with crime and disorder when compared to their Melbourne counterparts.

“In the suburbs that we studied, people use cues like language, religion and race to gauge the severity of community problems," Dr Wickes said.

"This is not to say that these people are prejudiced, rather it suggests that they may subconsciously associate a given group with disorder.

“While obvious acts of prejudice are often easier to see, covert prejudice is just as harmful as it compromises the accuracy and fairness of judgments about people.”

The study has important ramifications in terms of people's behaviour. See full story at UQ News Online