Data on prosecuted cases only include hate crime incidents within the OSCE definition. Prosecutor data present the number of criminal discriminatory offences that can be legally qualified, rather than the number of incidents. One alleged criminal offence or hate crime fact can lead to the registration of more than one discriminatory ground.
The judiciary does not record hate crimes, as the discriminatory motive does not need to be proven in court or addressed in judicial decisions.
The discrepancy between the police and the prosecution figures can be explained by the different approaches to recording (including a perception-based recording and a broader framework for recording by the police), the fact that not all reported incidents lead to a prosecution (e.g., due to the victim's preference for an alternative solution or a lack of evidence), and the fact that not all registered hate incidents are found plausible by the prosecution.
Police figures do not include hate speech incidents, including insults, which were recorded separately (4,149 incidents in total). The below charts present the total numbers for each bias motivation.
In January 2021 a draft bill was submitted to the Dutch Parliament with the aim of introducing a criminal provision of general application on aggravating circumstances. Accordingly, when a discriminatory aspect is proven, the maximum term of imprisonment imposed on the offence concerned may be increased by one third. In June 2022, the initiators sent the revised version of the bill to the Dutch Parliament.
In May 2022, a new State Commission against Discrimination and Racism was established by the Dutch Government. The State Commission is an independent scientific advisory body that will conduct research into discrimination and racism, including hate crimes, in the Netherlands for the next four years, and make recommendations on how to address these issues. The Government has also financed a project for the Police, the Public Prosecution Service and local-level anti-discrimination agencies to consider improvements to the criminal justice approach to hate crimes, and to identify alternative settlements in cases where this approach is less effective.
In October 2021, a National Co-ordinator against Discrimination and Racism (NCDR) was appointed. In 2022, the NCDR presented a comprehensive national programme to strengthen the Dutch approach to counter discrimination. The NCDR works closely together with the different ministries and the National Co-ordinator on Combating Anti-Semitism (NCAB). The NCDR organized town hall sessions with a range of actors to gather input on the national programme.
The Netherlands Police is implementing a pilot project deploying specialist police officers on combating discrimination. The project foresees developing the Centre of Expertise Discrimination (ECAD-P), which is intended to train police officers to better recognize and deal with issues relating to discrimination. It also serves as a national information and knowledge hub for the entire police organization, monitoring external developments and expanding, using and maintaining expertise on discrimination. One of its tasks is to compile an annual report on discrimination figures. The ECAD-P also ensures that knowledge of the approach to tackling discrimination is embedded in police training. ECAD-P advises and shares knowledge – both internally and externally - about discrimination and hate crime cases. ECAD-P works on different levels and on different topics (including on training, tackling discrimination, handling cases, and policymaking).
In a notable hate crime case, a gay man in a centre for asylum seekers in Schalkhaar was physically assaulted and verbally abused by a fellow resident in June 2022. The magistrate sentenced the suspect to a suspended imprisonment of two weeks and 30 hours of community service.
Also in June, a Muslim woman had her headscarf removed and was physically assaulted at a shopping centre in The Hague by another woman. The perpetrator was convicted of assault and fined, and the defendant appealed to the verdict.
In 2022, a sentence was issued in a vandalism case, in which the facade of the office of COC-Netherlands (an LGBTI+ advocacy group) in Rotterdam was covered with graffiti indicating an anti-LGBTI bias. Two of four the suspects were prosecuted for vandalism, and prosecutors demanded a higher sentence due to the discriminatory aspect. As a result, one perpetrator was sentenced to 40 hours of community service.
A further 123 incidents (including spitting and denial of access) were reported under this category but not included in the breakdown.
A further 10 incidents (including spitting and denial of access) were reported under this category but not included in the breakdown.
This category includes incidents motivated by bias against other religions or belief, including an anti-Christian bias.
This category includes hate crimes on the grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity. A further 27 incidents (including spitting and denial of access) were reported under this category but not included in the breakdown.
A further 11 incidents (including spitting and denial of access) were reported under this category but not included in the breakdown.
ODIHR recognizes the Netherlands' efforts to build the capacity of law enforcement and criminal justice professionals to address hate crimes. However, based on the available information, it observes that since 2018, the Netherlands has not reported data on hate crimes recorded by the judiciary to ODIHR. In addition, ODIHR observes that the Netherlands would benefit from reviewing the existing legal framework in order to ensure that bias motivations can be effectively acknowledged and appropriate penalties 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 report such periodically to ODIHR. To that end, hate crimes need to be distinguished throughout the recording and data collection process from discrimination and hate speech crimes. 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 the Netherlands in meeting the relevant commitments through its comprehensive resources and tailored assistance in the area of hate crime recording and data collection, as well as through further resources and tailored legislative advice.
🛈 Please note that the total number of incidents may be lower than the sum of incidents presented in the breakdown chart above, as some incidents involve multiple bias motivations.
🛈 ODIHR no longer presents descriptions of property attacks in the incident tables below. Data on property attacks are presented in the breakdown charts above. One property attack may target multiple properties or involve multiple types of attack.