The data presented here include information taken from the police database (SDI) and information gathered by the Observatory for Security against Acts of Discrimination (OSCAD). The breakdown below consists of: (i) SDI data covering the following bias motivations: "race"/skin colour; ethnicity; nationality; language; anti-Semitism; bias against Roma and Sinti; bias against Muslims; and bias against members of other religions; and (ii) OSCAD data on hate crimes motivated by bias against "sexual orientation and transgender identity" and bias against people with a "disability".
In 2021, OSCAD organized a one-day training entitled "When hatred becomes a crime" as part of a professional update for all state police personnel. The training content was delivered through the SISFOR platform (On Line Law Enforcement Training System), accessible to all state police personnel. The platform and the related content are also accessible to other national police forces (the Carabinieri Corps and the Guardia di Finanza) and to local police agencies.
In March 2021, together with the CSO CILD and the Advocacy for LGBTI Rights-Lenford Network, OSCAD co-organized a two-day training-of-trainers course for 33 officers (18 of the state police and 15 of the Carabinieri Corps) to apply the training manual on "Policing Hate Crimes Against LGBTI Persons", as part of a Council of Europe project. In the future, the training course will be monitored by the Council of Europe.
Furthermore, in October 2021, ODIHR conducted a training-of-trainers session on "Police and Roma – Effective and Human Rights-Compliant Policing", which includes a module on hate crime. Nine Carabinieri officers and nine state police officers participated in the training and are due to deliver cascaded training sessions in future.
OSCAD also co-organized a CEPOL Course 44/2021 on hate crime that took place in Italy in November 2021. The course was attended by 26 European law enforcement officers specialized in the fight against hate crimes and online hate speech.
As a result of these cascaded hate crime training courses, a total of 3,333 personnel, including police cadets and senior sergeants, were trained in 2021.
In 2021, a co-ordination centre set up by UNAR produced an initial draft of a national strategy for LGBTI (2021-2025). A technical group set up by the Presidency of the Council of Ministers also produced a national strategy to combat anti-Semitism.
Notable case:
In March 2021, a man wearing a necklace with a Jewish pendant was stabbed by another man outside a fast-food restaurant in the centre of Rome. The victim was subjected to racist and anti-Semitic insults owing to their skin colour and perceived Jewish identity. Police investigations led to the identification of the perpetrator, who was placed under house arrest and charged with bodily harm, the use of a weapon, and the aggravating circumstances of racial discrimination, as well as with the unlawful carry of an item intended to inflict harm.
This category includes crimes registered in the SDI database and committed on the grounds of "race"/skin colour, ethnicity, bias against Roma and Sinti, nationality, language, anti-Semitism, bias against Muslims, and bias against members of other religions.
This information is based on reports received by the Observatory for Security against Acts of Discrimination (OSCAD). Incidents included in the categories of sexual orientation (76) and gender identity (seven) were reported to ODIHR separately but are presented together here.
This information is based on reports received by the Observatory for Security against Acts of Discrimination (OSCAD) and included in the SDI database.
ODIHR recognizes Italy's efforts to raise awareness among its police about hate crime, especially in respect of groups that are not explicitly covered by the current criminal legislation. ODIHR also recognizes Italy's efforts to submit police-recorded data on hate crimes. However, based on the available information, it observes that since 2018, Italy has not reported data to ODIHR on hate crimes recorded by the prosecution and judiciary. In addition, ODIHR observes that Italy would benefit from reviewing its existing legal framework in order to ensure that bias motivations can be effectively acknowledged and appropriate penalties can be imposed on the perpetrators.
ODIHR recalls that in Ministerial Council Decision 9/09, OSCE participating States committed to collecting reliable data and statistics in sufficient detail on hate crimes and to reporting such crimes periodically to ODIHR. Participating States also committed to enacting specific, tailored legislation to combat hate crimes, providing for effective penalties that take into account the gravity of such crimes. ODIHR stands ready to support Italy 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 resources and tailored legislative advice.