The police numbers represent the number of recorded offences. One incident can involve more than one offence.
In 2020, the drafting of the new "Protocol for Procedure in Cases of Hate Crime" (mentioned in last year's Hate Crime Report) continued; the Protocol was finalized by the Office for Human Rights and the Rights of National Minorities in 2021 (published in the Official Gazette under No. 43/2021.) The objective of the Protocol is to provide a comprehensive framework for collecting data on hate crimes. To that end, it provides a monitoring definition of hate crime; defines the obligations of individual institutions dealing with hate crimes; determines the responsibilities of the competent authorities involved in detecting, treating and monitoring the results of procedures conducted in hate crime cases; establishes the Working Group for Monitoring Hate Crimes at the Office for Human Rights and the Rights of National Minorities consisting of representatives of bodies in charge of combatting hate crimes, academia, and civil society organizations (CSOs) active in the field of hate crimes (the following five CSOs have participated in the Working Group since June 2021: Serb National Council, Jewish Community of Zagreb, Roma Association in the Republic of Croatia Kali Sara, Zagreb Pride and Center for Peace, Nonviolence and Human Rights Osijek); and defines specific forms for statistical collecting data on hate crime cases.
Furthermore, research on the state authorities' response to hate crimes was conducted under the project „IRIS – Improved response to intolerance through research, strategic advocacy, and training" funded by the Rights, Equality and Citizenship Programme of the European Union (2014-2020), and carried out by the Croatian Law Centre in partnership with the State Attorney's Office (hereinafter: SAO) of the Republic of Croatia, the Police Academy, and the Office for Human Rights and Rights of National Minorities of the Government of the Republic of Croatia, in cooperation with the Supreme Court and the High Misdemeanour Court of the Republic of Croatia. The objective of the research was to better understand the factors influencing the effective official response to hate crimes through mapping the procedures and actions employed by the police, public prosecutors and the courts in dealing with hate crimes; the report entitled "Hate Crime in Croatia: Empirical Research of Cases from the Period 2013 – 2018" includes recommendations to various state authorities. Under the same project, a separate document entitled "Recommendations for Improving Cooperation between CSOs, Police and Judicial Bodies" was published.
The "Unspecified" category includes 15 cases that were classified under the criminal offence of "Public Incitement to Violence and Hatred" (Article 325 of the Criminal Code), one case classified as "Domestic Violence" (Article 179a of the Criminal Code), and one case classified as criminal offence of "Illegal Use of Personal Data" (Article 146 of the Criminal Code).
The "Unspecified" category includes one case that was classified under the criminal offence of "Neglect and Abuse of the Rights of a Child" (Article 177 of the Criminal Code).
The "Unspecified" category includes one case that was classified under the criminal offence of "Violation of the Freedom to Express National Affiliation" (Article 126 of the Criminal Code).
The "Unspecified" category includes one case that was classified as the criminal offence of "Public Incitement to Violence and Hatred" (Article 325 of the Criminal Code).
The "Unspecified" category includes one case that was classified as the criminal offence of "Public Incitement to Violence and Hatred" (Article 325 of the Criminal Code).
Under this bias motivation, all cases except one were bias based on sexual orientation. The "Unspecified" category includes three cases classified as the criminal offence of "Public Incitement to Violence and Hatred" (Article 325 of the Criminal Code) of which one case was based on gender identity.
ODIHR recognizes Croatia's efforts to improve hate crime recording and data collection, and welcomes that the recently updated Protocol for Procedure in Cases of Hate Crime anticipates that data on hate crime disaggregated by bias motivation shall be made public. However, based on the available information, it observes that Croatia's hate crime recording and statistics do not sufficiently distinguish hate crimes from other crimes. In addition, ODIHR observes that Croatia would benefit from the awareness-raising and capacity-building of criminal justice officials about hate crimes.
ODIHR recalls that in the Ministerial Council Decision 9/09, participating States have agreed to a definition of hate crimes shared by all OSCE participating States. They have also committed to collecting reliable data and statistics on hate crimes. To that end, hate crimes need to be distinguished throughout the recording and data collection process from incitement to hatred offences and other crimes falling outside of the OSCE's hate crime definition. In the same 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 Croatia in meeting its relevant commitments through the provision of comprehensive resources and tailored assistance in the area of hate crime recording and data collection, as well as further providing resources and tailored capacity building assistance for police, prosecution, and judiciary.