Finland
Finland regularly reports hate crime data to ODIHR. Finland's hate crime laws consist of a general penalty enhancement provision. Reported police data include discrimination and defamation offences, which fall outside the OSCE definition of hate crime, although these can be disaggregated. Data on the numbers of prosecutions and sentenced cases are only reported for discrimination cases. Hate crime data are collected by the Police University College of Finland's Research Department, the Interior Ministry, the Prosecutor's Office, the Ministry of Justice and Statistics Finland. Finland conducts regular victimization surveys to measure unreported hate crime.
OFFICIAL DATA
Year | Hate crimes recorded by police | Prosecuted | Sentenced |
---|---|---|---|
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 2020 Data
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The police also recorded criminal forms of intolerance other than hate crimes, such as defamation and criminal discrimination. These data are reported to ODIHR but are not included in the overall figure or in the breakdown below.
Hate crime recorded by police
Beyond this data breakdown, a further 407 cases of defamation and discrimination were reported to ODIHR. These do not fall under the OSCE definition of hate crime and are thus not included. With the consent of the Roma community, hate crime against Roma people has been included as a category separate from Racism and Xenophobia.
INCIDENTS REPORTED BY OTHER SOURCES
In addition to incidents summarized below, this graph includes 2 hate incidents reported by Kantor Center as statistics.
Anti-Semitic hate crime
Date | Type of incident | Source | Description |
---|---|---|---|
2020-01 | Attacks against property | OIDAC
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Show info |
Anti-Christian hate crime
Date | Type of incident | Source | Description |
---|---|---|---|
2020-01 | Attacks against property | OIDAC
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Show info |
INTERNATIONAL REPORTS
KEY OBSERVATION
ODIHR recognizes Finland's efforts to improve its hate crime recording, data collection mechanisms, and local cooperation practices, as well as the submitted information on police records. However, based on the available information, ODIHR observes that Finland would benefit from raising the awareness and building the capacity of its criminal justice officials about hate crimes.
ODIHR recalls that in the Ministerial Council Decision 9/09, participating States have committed to introducing or further developing professional training and capacity-building activities for law-enforcement, prosecution, and judicial officials dealing with hate crimes. ODIHR stands ready to support Finland in meeting its relevant commitments through the provision of comprehensive resources and tailored capacity building assistance for police, prosecution, and judiciary.