Finland

Finland regularly reports hate crime data to ODIHR. Finland has conducted victimization surveys to measure unreported hate crimes. The Finnish police closely co-operates with the Finnish Human Rights League, the Finnish Red Cross and Finnish Victim Support to develop a co-ordinated response to combat hate crimes. These organizations, along with the national police and other key authorities, form a network tasked by Finland's Ministry of Justice with monitoring hate crimes in Finland and developing adequate measures to prevent such crimes. Finland implemented ODIHR's Training Against Hate Crimes for Law Enforcement (TAHCLE) programme in 2017 and went on to train over 1,000 police officers on hate crimes before integrating the programme's hate crime modules into pre- and in-service training for police.

Hate crime data collection in Finland
Support for hate crime victims in Finland
Hate crime capacity building in Finland
Finland's hate crime legislation
 
Download the 2013 hate crime report for Finland

OFFICIAL DATA REPORTED BY STATES

Year Hate crimes recorded by police Prosecuted Sentenced
2023 1,361 49 48
2022 1,094 121 27
2021 1,390 44 30
2020 1177 48 42
2019 900 22 17
2018 880 55 21
2017 1497 63 37
2016 1311 N/A N/A
2015 1704 Not available Not available
2014 954 Not available Not available
2013 904 Not available Not available
2012 836 38 12
2011 1418 29 12
2010 1407 38 Not available
2009 1580 41 Not available

About 2013 Data

    The police also records criminal forms of intolerance other than hate crimes, such as defamation, other hate speech offences and criminal discrimination. These data are reported to ODIHR but are not included in the overall figure or in the breakdown below. Prosecution and sentencing data reported to ODIHR only consist of crimes of ethnic agitation, aggravated ethnic agitation, discrimination, work discrimination and extortionate discrimination, and are not, therefore, included in the overall figure.

Hate crime recorded by police

National developments

In spring 2013 the Ministry of the Interior's Committee for Monitoring on Discrimination published a study on access to justice that includes data about the effectiveness of redress mechanisms in discrimination (including hate crime) cases. The study noted some difficulties faced by the persons vulnerable to discrimination when identifying and using the appropriate redress mechanisms. The victims interviewed for the study were, however, prepared to file a new complaint in case of another incident.

KEY OBSERVATION

ODIHR observes that Finland has not reported information on the numbers of prosecuted or sentenced hate crime cases to ODIHR.

INCIDENTS REPORTED BY CIVIL SOCIETY

INTERNATIONAL REPORTS

Racist and xenophobic hate crime

In its fourth report, the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) recommended that Finland reinforce training provided to members of the justice system on legislation relating to racism and racial discrimination, improve the monitoring of racist acts and ensure that racist crimes are duly punished under relevant national hate crime legislation.