Closer attention to be paid to hate crimes

Police to systematically compile data of racist and homophobic crimes

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Police in Finland are to start compiling data on hate crimes, and separate statistics on the phenomenon are to be kept.
      Hate crimes include crimes motivated by racism, as well as crimes specifically targeting groups such as sexual minorities and the disabled.
     
The Ministry of the Interior has kept an eye on racially-motivated crimes for about ten years already, and a racist motive has been recognised as an aggravating circumstance in criminal cases since 2004.
     However, a study published last November by the Police College of Finland indicates that in practice, a racist attitude on the part of a perpetrator rarely leads to a harsher sentence in criminal cases.
     
The study found that a racist motivation often did not lead to more severe punishment even if the racist character of the crime came out already in the preliminary police investigation.
     The Ministry of the Interior now wants to extend scrutiny to other types of hate crimes as well. Finnish legislation does not recognise hate crimes as a separate category.
     
Interior Ministry Chief of Staff Ritva Viljanen says that the Internet has led to a significant increase in hate crimes recently, as various online hate groups have emerged.
      “It is time to consider recognising hate crime as its own category in Finnish legislation”, Viljanen pointed out.
      Viljanen feels that there can be no other starting point for Finland than that people have the right to be treated equally regardless of their sexual orientations.
      “Gay culture in Finland today cannot be simply a culture of survival, with is a fear of discrimination. It must be a culture of a society of equality, which respects fundamental rights”, Viljanen said on Sunday, the International Day against homophobia.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Immigrants say Finnish police not taking complaints of racist crimes seriously (15.5.2009)
  Incident at train station draws attention to racist acts aimed at children (14.5.2009)
  Racist crime rarely leads to conviction in Finland (26.4.2007)

Helsingin Sanomat