Examining data from 24 EU Member States, the European Network Against Racism reports on hate crimes with a racial bias between 2014 and 2018. Data suggest that racially motivated crimes are on the rise in many EU countries, but authorities are still reluctant or have difficulty with investigating and prosecuting crimes with a racial bias as hate crimes.

While many EU Member States have guidelines, policies or instructions that support police and prosecutors in recording or investigating hate crimes, evidence suggests that police are not taking reports of racially motivated crimes seriously. Factors that seem to contribute to the lack of action include:

• When certain groups, especially Roma, report the crimes
• Witnesses to the crime are the same ethnicity as the victim
• Racial stereotyping

Police officers investigating the crime have the power to declare whether the crime has a racist motive. But it is often more straightforward to investigate criminal acts without looking into motivations, which can lead to ‘silencing’ victims and witnesses to hate crimes. Prosecution of hate crimes can be hindered by poor recording and investigation practices by the police, lack of training and limited resources, among other factors.

Read the report