Building trust between national public authorities and the vulnerable communities

Organisation

Ministry of the Interior of the Republic of Lithuania (Lietuvos Respublikos Idaus Reikalų Ministerija).

Start and end date

Start date:

September 2018.

End date:

May 2020.

Scope

National.

Target group(s)

Vulnerable communities and law enforcement authorities.

Funding

EU funds (EU’s Rights, Equality and Citizenship Programme 2014–2020).

Objectives

• Improve competent national authorities’ knowledge and awareness about the impact of hate crime and hate speech, and the needs and expectations of vulnerable communities.
• Develop relationships between vulnerable communities and law enforcement authorities.
• Address under-reporting.

Outputs

• Report on the qualitative research on the communities vulnerable to hate crime and hate speech (Neapykantos nusikaltimų pažeidžiamų bendruomenių kokybinio tyrimo ataskaita) (website newsletter). 
• The recommendations on meeting the needs of vulnerable communities in order to protect them and support victims of crime (Rekomendacijos valstybės institucijoms ir įstaigoms dėl pažeidžiamų bendruomenių poreikių dėl jų apsaugos nuo neapykantos nusikaltimų ir paramos nusikaltimų aukoms tenkinimo).
• Five roundtable discussions between local police officers, prosecutors and representatives of communities that are vulnerable to hate crime in the largest cities of the country.
• An article entitled ‘Hate incidents still remain a significant problem’ (‘Neapykantos incidentai vis dar išlieka opi problema’), which outlines the findings of the qualitative research on vulnerable communities and the roundtable discussions. The article was published in four regional newspapers (Sekundė, Šiaulių Kraštas, Kauno Diena and Vakarų Ekspresas) and on their websites.
• Practical guide for law enforcement officers – Cooperation with communities vulnerable to hate crime (Praktinis vadovas teisėsaugos pareigūnams – Bendradarbiavimas su neapykantos nusikaltimų pažeidžiamomis bendruomenėmis).

Description

• The practice was implemented in the framework of the project ‘Strengthening the Response to Hate Crimes and the Language of Hate in Lithuania’ (website newsletter).
• The objectives of the qualitative research were to assess the nature of vulnerability, the impact of hate crime and hate speech, reasons for not reporting a crime, and the needs and expectations of vulnerable communities.
• The recommendations on meeting the needs of vulnerable communities were based on the findings of the qualitative research and covered issues related to the prevention of re-victimisation in criminal procedures, addressing the latency of hate crime and ensuring the protection of the rights of victims and adequate support for victims. They were distributed to the national public authorities concerned.
• A total of 41 local police officers, 14 prosecutors and 57 representatives from among the Roma, Jewish, Russian, Ukrainian and Muslim communities, the migrant community, the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community, people with disabilities and three non-governmental organisations (NGOs) attended the roundtable discussions. The goal was to discuss the hate-crime-related experiences of the communities and encourage their cooperation with law enforcement, increase the communities’ trust in law enforcement and ensure that victims are better informed on the procedures of pre-trial investigations.
• The practical guide on cooperation with vulnerable communities was based on the findings of the qualitative research and roundtable discussions. The purpose of the guide is to help law enforcement officers to better understand the communities in Lithuania that are most vulnerable to hate crimes, better recognise hate crimes and gain a deeper understanding of the impact of these crimes. It also provides officers with recommendations on efficient cooperation with these communities.

Critical success factors

• The recommendations for the relevant national public authorities were based on the findings of the research.
• Face-to-face meetings between local law enforcement officers and representatives of the vulnerable communities.
• The involvement of NGOs and civil society organisations in the design and implementation of the practice.
• Taking into account the country’s regional particularities and the specific characteristics of the vulnerable communities.

Actors involved in the design and implementation of the practice

The police department and the Prosecutor General’s Office were involved in the design, planning and implementation of the practice through formal cooperation.

NGOs that have experience in working with vulnerable communities and civil society organisations that represent vulnerable communities were consulted and were involved in developing the research methodology, conducting the research and organising the roundtable discussions.

NGOs that have experience in working with vulnerable communities moderated the roundtable discussions.

Monitoring and evaluation

No overall monitoring and evaluation of the practice was carried out.

Feedback on the roundtable discussions was collected from participants using evaluation forms. According to the participants, such face-to-face meetings between local law enforcement officers and representatives of the communities contribute to increased confidence in law enforcement among vulnerable communities. The need for more frequent meetings of a similar nature was expressed.

Publicly available contact details

Ministry of the Interior of the Republic of Lithuania
Šventaragio g. 2
LT-01510 Vilnius
Lithuania
Telephone: +370 (5) 271 7130
Email: bendrasisd@vrm.lt
Website