Promising Practice

Hate crimes reported to the police in 2020 English summary of Brå report A compilation of the cases that were classified as hate crimes by the police

Polisanmälda hatbrott 2020 En sammanställning av de ärenden som hatbrottsmarkerats av polisen, Rapport
Hate crime statistics are based on reported crimes that the police classified as hate crimes and where the Swedish National Council for Crime Prevention (Brå) identified hate as the underlying motive, along with data on how these crimes were handled by the legal system. Hate crime statistics are published every two years, and in between more detailed statistical analyses are published in the area.
Tír
Sweden
Guidelines
Map existing sources
Build institutional capacity
Facilitate effective use
Ensure comprehensiveness
Enhance validity and reliability
Align definitions/classifications and categorisations
Improve comparability
Mainstream intersectional approach
Ground of discrimination
Age
Gender identity or expression
Racial or ethnic origin
Religion or belief
Sexual orientation
Intersex / variation of sex characteristics

 


In this page:


Why was the practice needed?

Statistics on police-reported hate crimes contribute to knowledge that can be used in the research that is conducted in the area and to follow Sweden's international commitments to report hate crime statistics. Further purposes are partly to be able to use the statistics as a tool for following up administrative decisions on reported crimes with hate as the underlying motive, and as evaluating the police’s initial handling of reported offences classified as hate crimes. The statistics are relevant to the police’s operational activities.

Statistics on police-reported hate crimes are important for making visible the specific vulnerability and support needs of different groups, but also to identify patterns and recurring contexts where hate crimes occur and implement targeted measures. It makes it possible to identify actors who may be relevant in the preventive work (such as schools, employers, municipalities, internet moderators). It is also necessary for working broadly against intolerance and prejudice.

Background: In Swedish criminal law, the protection of certain population groups is constructed from the provisions on agitation against a population group (16:8 in the Swedish Criminal Code) and unlawful discrimination (16:9) as well as the general regulation on aggravating circumstances (29:2). According to the regulation on aggravating circumstances, a court must consider whether a motive for the committed offence was to insult a person or a population group on grounds of race, colour, national or ethnic origin, religious belief, sexual orientation or transgender identity or expression, or another similar circumstance. If this is proved, it will result in a more severe penalty for the defendant.

How was it implemented?

See above.

Outputs

The Swedish National Council for Crime Prevention collects and presents biannual statistics on hate crime. The reports are descriptive compilations. They include an investigation of the police’s hate crime classification, an account of hate crime motives Brå identified, crime categories, type of crime scene, and the victim’s gender and relationship to the perpetrator. In addition to this, statistics were also reported on the regional distribution of the reported offences, i.e. divided across the police regions where they were registered, and statistics on the distribution of hate crimes per municipality, based on where the offences took place.

The Swedish National Council for Crime Prevention have done several in-depth studies, for example: Afrophobic hate crime, Anti-Muslim hate crime, Antisemitic hate crime and self-reported exposure to homophobic or transphobic hate crimes and harassment.

Key success factors

The Swedish National Council for Crime Prevention is instructed to publish statistics on hate crime every two years and conduct one or more in-depth studies on hate crimes in the following year. Another factor is an increased cooperation between the Swedish National Council for Crime Prevention and the Swedish police. It is important to establish and maintain a continuous dialogue between the Swedish National Council for Crime Prevention and the Swedish police regarding hate crimes and what is and what is not a hate crime case.

Technical information

  • Data sources covered: Victimisation surveys, qualitative research
  • Areas of life covered: Hate crime
  • Target audience:
    • All of the above targets.
  • Duration: Biannually and annually. Hate crime statistics are published every two years, and in between more detailed statistical analyses is published in the area.
  • Geographical scope: National
  • Leading institution: Swedish National Council for Crime Prevention/ Brottsförebyggande rådet. 
  • Other organisations involved/consulted:The Swedish Police Authority, The civil society.
  • Financial & human resources: Budget: 190 000 € (approximately biannually).; Source of the budget: State budget; Staff: n.a.

Contacts

Desk officer, Division for Crime Policy, Ministry of Justice: Mattias Fogelgren

See Also