Netherlands

The Netherlands regularly report hate crime data to ODIHR. Police and prosecution statistics are published annually. A victimization survey is conducted by the Central Bureau of Statistics every two years and the results are published here.

The Netherlands' Criminal Code contains no hate crime provisions, and hate crimes are addressed under anti-discrimination criminal provisions. Police training curriculum includes periodic sessions on anti-discrimination, including bias-motivated crimes and prejudice. The Police Diversity Skills Network, together with the Public Prosecution Service, further supports, informs and advises police officers and prosecutors on addressing "discriminatory motives". The Expertise Centre for Tackling Discrimination (ECAD-P) serves to (i) train police officers to better recognize and deal with hate crime, (ii) act as a national information and knowledge hub for police, and (iii) ensure that police are trained to tackle discrimination and hate crime. In October 2021, the Netherlands appointed a National Coordinator against Discrimination and Racism to ensure a comprehensive approach to counter discrimination and hate crime by involving all relevant stakeholders, including civil society.

SELECT YEAR

OFFICIAL DATA

Year	Hate crimes recorded by police	Prosecuted	Sentenced
2021	2,417	485	Not available
2020	2133	409	Not available
2019	2016	343	Not available
2018	3299	312	91
2017	3499	331	79
2016	4376	-	-
2015	5288	Not available	Not available
2014	5721	133	87
2013	3614	83	89
2012	3292	114	Not available
2011	2802	169	Not available
2010	3538	170	90
2009	2212	160	135

About 2014 Data

Figures reported to ODIHR and presented here include hate speech and discrimination offences (or "basic forms of discrimination") as well as hate crimes ("common offences with a discriminatory motive"). Where multiple biases are registered in an offence, each of them is reported individually in the breakdown below.

Download official data

National developments

The Netherlands launched a 4-year awareness campaign to encourage victims of discrimination and hate crimes to report incidents to the authorities. As part of the campaign, the development of a tool to facilitate citizens' reporting is foreseen.

Dialogue has been launched between the local councils, police and the prosecutor's office, on the possibility to institutionalize co-operation when dealing with cases of discrimination and hate crimes. The possibility of standardizing procedures through the adoption of guidelines and the establishment of regional consultative platforms has been considered.

The NGO Anne Frank House has been granted direct access to the Police database of crime reports, in order to identify hate crimes and other discriminatory crimes and publicize this information. The resulting annual Monitoring Report thus provides an authoritative overview of hate crimes recorded by the Police.

KEY OBSERVATION

ODIHR observes that the Netherlands has not reported on cases of hate crimes separately from cases of hate speech and/or discrimination.

Incidents reported by civil society, international organizations and the Holy See

Download incident data

Reports

Anti-Semitic hate crime

Israel Information and Documentation Centre reported six physical assaults, including one in which a Rabbi was almost run over by a car and another in which a woman was violently grabbed; three threats; two incidents of damage to property; and 20 incidents of damage to Jewish property.

Anti-LGBTI hate crime

ILGA-Europe reported four physical assaults causing serious injuries, including one carried out by a group and one involving a threat with a knife. In one case, the victim's earrings were ripped out and he was beaten, and in the other the victim was stabbed multiple times. IGLA-Europe reported an additional physical assault against the owner of a café.

Anti-Muslim hate crime

Turkish Forum reported a physical attack against a Muslim woman, during which her veil was torn off; five incidents of threats, one of which involved damage to a private home; three arson attacks, including one on a mosque; two attempted arson attacks on mosques; eight incidents of graffiti; four incidents of damage to property; and the desecration of a mosque involving a pig's head.