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 2016 Data
-
The police also recorded 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. The Prosecutor's Office and the courts only record by crime type and that is why statistics on prosecuted and sentenced hate crimes are not available.
Hate crime recorded by police
1655 hate crimes were originally reported to ODIHR. The number of crime reports was 1079, as one crime report can include several of hate crimes. This number included cases of Ethnic Agitation, Defamation and Discrimination, which were removed and are not presented here.
INCIDENTS REPORTED BY OTHER SOURCES
Racist and xenophobic hate crime
Date | Type of incident | Source | Description |
---|---|---|---|
2016-05 | Violent attacks against people | Migrant Tales
|
Show info |
2016-10 | Violent attacks against people | Migrant Tales
|
Show info |
2016-03 | Attacks against property | Migrant Tales
|
Show info |
INTERNATIONAL REPORTS
Racist and xenophobic hate crime
In its report, the Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) for Finland, recommended that the authorities take measures to reduce the number of anti-religious hate crimes, ensure that hate crimes are effectively investigated and that law enforcement, security and judicial authorities be trained and have guidelines to address hate crimes against immigrants, asylum seekers and refugees.
KEY OBSERVATION
ODIHR observes that Finland has not reported information on the numbers of prosecuted and sentenced hate crimes to ODIHR.