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

Hate crime recording and data collection

Dutch legislation contains a definition of discrimination in article 90quater of the Criminal Code. The Netherlands Police records hate crimes, and also hate speech and other discrimination incidents. The Centre of Expertise Discrimination of the Netherlands Police (ECAD-P) is in charge of data collection.

Data collection about discrimination by police has two objectives: 
1.    To improve operational measures to tackle individual cases of discrimination. Police units periodically discuss discrimination cases with the Public Prosecution Service and the anti-discrimination agencies (ADAs) during Regional Discrimination Consultations (RDO).
2.    To report on the nature and level of the registered incidents and identifiable trends.

Data is collected on the following grounds: "race" (including ethnicity, origin, etc.), gender/gender identity, sexual orientation, religion (including discrimination against Muslims), disability, belief, and anti-Semitism. The police annually report on all cases involving discrimination and hate crime.

Different instruction documents exist on how to record hate crimes.
The police register reports, notifications and their own observations of discrimination and hate crimes in the business processing system (BVH). These registrations are uploaded into a consultation system (BVI). Using a keyword list, an automatic search is made for discrimination incidents, including crimes committed with a bias motive. The results are presented in an Excel file. Subject matter experts screen the incidents in the Excel file for relevance (possible elements of discrimination or hate crime) and categorize them by type of crime and discrimination grounds. The screening results in a discrimination case overview. The regional police units receive a case overview twice a month. The overviews are also discussed in frequent consultations with the Public Prosecution Service and anti-discrimination agencies at the municipal level. 

The annual discrimination report database is compiled from case summaries of all units for the year. The police select only hate crime incidents for this report, categorizing them as threats, physical assault, property damage, and other crime type.
The Public Prosecution Service reports on all types of criminalized discrimination (including specific discrimination offences and general criminal offences with a discriminatory element) in the annual report on 'Strafbare Discriminatie in Beeld'’(Criminal Discrimination in Focus). The National Discrimination Expertise Centre (LECD) is in charge of drafting the annual report.
The Public Prosecution Service's statistics are not based on incidents or prosecuted cases, but on the number of alleged discrimination offences. The Public Prosecution Service reports on hate crimes, hate speech and discrimination offences. Hate speech and discrimination offences are registered and decided upon based on one of the specific discrimination articles included in the Criminal Code (137c-g and 429quater). One discrimination offence can include several grounds of discrimination. Hate crimes are defined as alleged criminal offences under ordinary criminal law where a discriminatory aspect has played a role in the motive or inducement to commit the offence. Those alleged offences can also be committed without the discriminatory aspect, in contrast to cases of alleged discrimination. 
     
When a case is reported, the Public Prosecution Service must be alerted to any discriminatory aspects of the case, which are registered manually in the case file. The expertise centre reviews cases with a discriminatory aspect to identify evidence of discrimination or hate crime. This information is used in the annual criminal discrimination overview.
The judiciary does not report separately on hate crimes due to the lack of a legislative provision, and judges' decisions often do not mention the discriminatory aspect, since this does not need to be proven. In general, data on judgments are based on the number of court cases. A single court case can include several alleged discrimination offences. One incident can qualify as more than one alleged offence, and one alleged offence can involve multiple discriminatory grounds.

The annual "Discriminatiecijfers" (Discrimination Figures) report covers discrimination incidents registered by police and those reported to the ADAs in the Netherlands. Additional data come from the contact point for Internet discrimination (MOD), the Netherlands Institute for Human Rights (CvRM), the National Ombudsman, and the Ombudsman for Children. This report is the outcome of co-operation among various parties that collect hate crime data. 

The police regularly consult on discrimination and hate crime cases with the Public Prosecution Service and anti-discrimination agencies at the municipal level. Police and Public Prosecution Service data can be used for research purposes when a formal request is received.

The Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) conducts crime victimization surveys (Veiligheidsmonitor) every two years. The survey addresses experiences of hate crime and examines several key aspects, including the number of people who feel they have been discriminated against, the grounds for discrimination, the perpetrators, the psychological impact on the victim, and whether the hate crime was reported. This information can provide an indication of the extent of under-reporting and the impact of hate crimes on the victims. The CBS published the 2025 victimization survey report on 2 March 2026 (Veiligheidsmonitor 2025).  
  
A separate research survey on perceptions of discrimination, including hate speech and hate crime, is also conducted once every two years by the Netherlands Institute for Social Research. The survey findings are published online. 

Hate crime victim support

The Netherlands provides both general victim support and specialized support for victims of hate crimes. In accordance with Dutch legislation, special protection measures can be applied to hate crime victims.
There are many organizations providing general and specialized victim support in the Netherlands. The general support providers include Victim Support Netherlands, which supports the victims of crime, traffic accidents, disasters and calamities. It offers legal, financial, social and practical assistance, and provides information on compensation. It also runs a dedicated webpage for victims of discrimination and hate crimes.

The police and prosecution services employ personnel trained on hate crimes. Voluntary and mandatory courses on hate crime are offered to all law enforcement officials. The police actively reaches out to vulnerable communities and anti-discrimination agencies representing specific communities. Specific victim support services are provided by the Netherlands police to the LGBTI and Jewish communities through the Police Diversity Skills Network, a network of experienced experts and officers.

A mandatory individual needs assessment (INA) procedure is conducted for all crime victims on first contact with the police. In addition, assessment and protection co-ordinators from Victim Support Netherlands' (VSN) provide extra information to their teams and act as a source of information on all matters relating to INAs and the protection of crime victims. When a hate crime is reported to the police, relevant topics are always included in the INA. The VSN receives the INA before coming into contact with the victim, with the aim of monitoring a victim's individual needs in the criminal proceedings. If there are concerns about a victim's safety, VSN employees can contact the assessment and protection co-ordinators, who then reach out to the prosecutor's office to apply for immediate safety measures for the victim.

Victims of bias-motivated crimes have the status of vulnerable victims and are entitled to special protection measures, including:
•    the use of an address other than their home address in the case file;
•    the possibility to testify anonymously;
•    a hearing by specially trained personnel or in an appropriate room;
•    assistance during the hearing by a lawyer or person of their choosing;
•    the use of audio-visual equipment during a hearing;
•    the possibility of placing a restraining order on the perpetrator;
•    the provision of shelter, home security measures and/or a police escort;
•    mediation to assist in their recovery;
•    the possibility of a non-public hearing in court;
•    the provision of a separate waiting area in court; and
•    measures to prevent the perpetrator from engaging in eye contact with the victim.

There are procedural rights in place specifically for the victims of hate crimes and other vulnerable victims. These include the right to be informed about decisions (including the reasons for these decisions), the right not to prosecute or to discontinue prosecution, as well as the right to dismiss or conditionally dismiss a case. In the Netherlands, hate crime victims can deliver a victim impact statement during proceedings, depending on the seriousness of the criminal act committed against them. 

Hate crime capacity building

The Police Academy programme for police officers includes training on the anti-discrimination provisions of the Constitution and Dutch Criminal Law. Periodic training sessions and tests cover how to approach discrimination and raise awareness of prejudice. The police force maintains a Diversity Skills Network to ensure access to knowledge about lifestyles, cultures and issues of special attention in Dutch society. 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 identify and handle hate crime cases more effectively, (ii) act as a national information and knowledge hub for police, and (iii) ensure that police are trained to tackle discrimination and hate crime cases.

Furthermore, the National Discrimination Expertise Centre (LECD), which is part of the Public Prosecution Service, serves as an internally focused expertise centre. Every public prosecutor's office at a district court is staffed with experts on discrimination and/or at least one prosecutor specializing in discrimination cases. The LECD works with these prosecutors and experts to ensure that discrimination cases are handled effectively. The LECD and the discrimination prosecutors at the district courts advise and inform public prosecutors and other relevant staff from the investigation stage right through to the handing down of a judgement by the highest court. In addition, the LECD is engaged in developing, maintaining and organizing expertise on discrimination and disseminating it within the Public Prosecution Service.

The Training and Study Centre for the Judiciary (SSR) is responsible for adequately training employees of the judiciary, including court staff, and the Public Prosecution Service. The SSR trains law graduates and practitioners as judges and public prosecutors in partnership with the Council for the Judiciary, the Dutch courts of law and the Public Prosecution Service, the SSR. The judicial training programme covers materials related to ethnicity and religion in a mandatory course on "Judgments without Prejudices". The course focuses on racism, including institutional racism, discrimination and inequality in national and international contexts. Training on discrimination and inequality is also available to public prosecutors.

The SSR and the LECD have developed an e-learning course on discrimination in Dutch criminal law that covers hate crimes, hate speech, and other discrimination offences. Discrimination experts at the district court level are required to participate in the e-learning course. All employees of the Public Prosecution Service and the Judiciary have access to the course, but it is not a mandatory part of the general training curriculum.

The SSR and the LECD have developed an e-learning course on discrimination in the national criminal law, including hate crimes, hate speech, and other discrimination offences. Discrimination experts at the district court level are required to participate in the e-learning course. All employees of the Public Prosecution Service and the Judiciary have access to the course, but it is not a mandatory part of the general training curriculum.