COL 13/2013: joint circular for the police divisions of the Integrated Police and the prosecutors

Organisation

Minister of Justice, Minister of the Interior and College of Public Prosecutors of the courts of appeal (de Minister van Justitie, de Minister van Binnenlandse Zaken en het College van Procureurs-Generaal bij de hoven van beroep/Le Ministre de la Justice, le Ministre de l’Intérieur et le Collège des Procureurs Généraux Les Cours d’Appel).

Start and end date

Start date:

17 June 2013.

End date:

Ongoing (as of May 2021).

Scope

National.

Target group(s)

Integrated police forces and prosecutors.

Funding

Funded by regular budget – integrated in the regular operations of the organisations concerned.

Objectives

• Improve identification and registration of acts of discrimination and hate crimes.
• Raise awareness among magistrates in the public prosecutor’s office, the labour auditor’s office, the police and social inspection services regarding the problem and current legislation. In addition, provide more effective guidance on the investigation and prosecution of hate crime offences (with particular attention to the investigation of crimes committed online).
• Improve mutual cooperation and exchanges between judicial staff, police officers and the national equality bodies – the Interfederal Centre for Equal Opportunities (UNIA) and the Institute for the Equality of Women and Men.

Outputs

• Guidelines for police and prosecutors that provide a framework to combat discrimination and hate crime.
• Police districts and the prosecutors` offices are instructed to appoint reference officers and magistrates for discrimination and hate crime, who have a duty to make sure that the circular is being executed within their district.
• Instructions for the police on how to correctly register discrimination and hate crimes.
• Specific standards for the treatment of hate crime victims – specific guidelines for the police on the treatment of hate crime victims, to ensure that victims receive the support that they need.
• The provision of aid to victims in relation to the prosecutor’s office. • Prosecutors’ responses must be adapted to each specific case rather than relying on automatic reflexes. They must take into account the characteristics of the perpetrator and the victim.

Description

COL 13/2013 is a circular on the investigation and prosecution policy on discrimination and hate crime (including discrimination based on sex). It indicates the relevant legislation and clarifies what is expected of magistrates. The circular also describes how police services can contribute to the better investigation and prosecution of discrimination and hate crimes. There is a strong emphasis on developing important networks, both within the police force and with reference magistrates and other competent bodies such as the national equality bodies – UNIA and the Institute for the Equality of Women and Men. The circular points out that the police cannot solve everything, but highlights that this is precisely why they should also take on the role of referrer; partnerships are very important in this respect. Mediation services also have a role to play in these partnerships.

Critical success factors

• Strengthening of the collaboration between the different actors involved.
• Implementation of the investigation and prosecution policy on discrimination and hate crime.
• The committee of experts in charge of the evaluation of the anti-discrimination legislation recognise COL 13/2013 as an appropriate instrument for proactive crime policy that provides the right tools to effectively and efficiently combat discrimination and hate crime.
• This committee also notes that, in general, stakeholders have positive opinions of COL 13/2013. The main merit of the circular is to identify, for each judicial actor, the tasks that are incumbent on them. The circular correctly stresses that the judiciary and the police must work together to tackle the problem of discrimination.
• The specific framework to combat discrimination and hate crime that was developed in COL 13/2013 has led to the development of checklists with guidelines for police and prosecutors to aid in identifying cases of hate-motivated crimes. In addition, standard questionnaires have been developed for victims, witnesses and suspects to aid in identifying hate-motivated violence.
• The reference officers and magistrates meet every year for regular training related to the framework of COL 13/2013, discrimination and hate crime. In addition, UNIA provides training for police staff.

Actors involved in the design and implementation of the practice

The Minister of Justice, the Minister of the Interior and the College of Public Prosecutors of the courts of appeal designed and implemented the practice.

Monitoring and evaluation

In 2017, the Evaluation Commission of the Anti-discrimination Legislation carried out an evaluation of COL 13/2013. It stated that COL 13/2013 is an adequate instrument to establish an effective policy on hate crimes and discrimination. However, the committee of experts identified several obstacles and formulated a set of recommendations for the correct application of the circular, some of which have not yet been implemented.

• Some police zones have not yet designated a reference police officer or are not replacing officers who, for various reasons, are no longer on duty. In addition, there is no centralised list of all reference police officers.
• Few complaints are brought to the police. The committee recommends that police officers introduce initiatives to inform victims of hate crimes where to report hate crime.
• Carry out police campaigns to stress the importance of the prosecution of hate crimes.
• Carry out research into the high dismissal rate of discrimination and hate crime cases within prosecutors’ offices because of ‘technicalities’ or for ‘reasons of opportunity’. These high rates are not in line with COL 13/2013. In 2020, the National Institute of Criminalistics and Criminology realised the need for research on this topic. National Institute of Criminalistics and Criminology and King Baudouin Foundation studies should be consulted during the research.
• Not all police officers write reports following complaints from victims, and some write ‘simplified reports’ that are not forwarded to public prosecutors. This results in under-reporting of hate crimes and hate speech.
• Statistics show that the strict provisions in COL 13/2013 for the registration of hate crime cases are not being followed. Many hate crime and discrimination cases are being registered in an inaccurate or incomplete way.

The COL 13/2013 working group monitors the execution of this circular and the implementation of the Evaluation Commission’s recommendations. It is also in charge of the evaluation and adaptation of the circular.

Publicly available contact details

Equal Opportunities Team, Federal Public Service Justice

Email: equal@just.fgov.be