This page provides information on the national frameworks to address hate crime in the Czech Republic. The information provided here should be viewed alongside data presented on the Czech Republic's hate crime report page.

Hate crime recording and data collection

The Czech police register crimes identified as being of an extremist nature using two forms: an incident form and a form on known perpetrators. Police officers note on the forms whether the crime was committed with a bias motivation. The recorded data are checked (some manually and some electronically) and provided to police analysts. The data are then entered into the Crime Statistics Recording System, which is part of the broader Electronic Criminal Proceedings (ECP) information system operated by the Police Presidium.

The data are shared with the Prosecutor's Office through the ECP system. This evidence allows the disaggregation of crime data according to pre-defined targeted groups, including Jewish, Roma, Muslim and Arab people. Changes to the forms and to the system will enable more precise data entry and output. Extremist crime and hate crime statistics are published on the website of the Ministry of the Interior on a regular basis as part of quarterly and annual reports on extremism.

The Probation and Mediation Service is also involved in collecting and publishing hate crime data.

In 2022, the Institute for Criminology and Social Prevention conducted a representative victimological survey.

Hate crime victim support

There is both a general victim support system and a specific support system for hate crime victims in the Czech Republic. Czech law recognizes hate crime victims as victims with specific needs.

Hate crime victims may receive support, including information, from the Probation and Mediation Service, which has offices in major cities. Counsellors for crime victims provide support at Probation and Mediation Service centres in 30 locations. They offer help and advice, legal information, psychosocial support, mediation between the victim and the offender, and restorative family group conferences (especially in cases of children and juvenile offenders). They also mediate agreements on compensation for damages and agreements on mutual settlement of relationships. The employees of the Probation and Mediation Service also help crime victims develop impact statements and request financial assistance.

Legal advice can be sought from attorneys registered with the Ministry of Justice. Civil society organizations (CSOs) that provide victim support are also required to register at the Ministry. The existing system ensures that registered providers offer quality services and have access to funding. Registered service providers can perform social services and provide legal information. Such providers also offer legal representation, but the cost is not covered by the State. The In IUSTITIA CSO delivers support to hate crime victims and receives funding on an annual basis from both the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Social Affairs.

The first responders to a hate crime are obliged to recognize hate crime victims and refer them to an available support service provider. However, co-operation between law enforcement and In IUSTITIA is not formalized. The training of police on sensitive and respectful treatment is not regular and does not constitute a part of the mandatory curriculum. There is no procedure for conducting individual needs assessment (INA) by law enforcement, although In IUSTITIA has an INA process in place.   

Hate crime victims are entitled to free legal aid, psychological assistance and social advice. They have the right to avoid visual contact with the perpetrator and be interviewed by a trained person of a gender of their choice. Hate crime victims have procedural rights as the party to the proceedings (injured person). This includes the right to provide an impact statement, question the perpetrator, seek damages, access the case file, use the services of an interpreter and complain against a decision; however, these rights are rarely taken into consideration when restorative justice procedures are applied.

Hate crime capacity building

Police training is carried out continuously within the framework of specialized courses and the "instructional methodical courses".

The Czech Republic has been implementing ODIHR's Prosecutors and Hate Crime Training (PAHCT) programme since 2020.