Preventing and combating hate crimes: Modern approach

The Central Criminal Police Department of the State Police of Latvia, Latvia

Abstract

A sufficient body of research, originally American and British, as well as practice has been accumulated in the last decades in the field of hate crime. Modern understanding of the issue distinguishes multinational and global character of the harm appearing due to hate crime, thus setting up topicality of this crucial problem. This paper is aimed at description of measures of effective prevention of hate crime and general considerations for an effective strategy of hate crime prevention and combating proposed by well recognized specialists in the field, mentioning prioritizing the response to hate crime within the police department, establishing multi-agency task forces, training police officers, responding to hate-crime victims’ needs, increasing police presence and attention in high-risk neighbourhoods, monitoring hate groups and tracking hate incidents, reaching out to minority communities, engaging educational institutions and the mass media. Reporting on recent development of Latvian Criminal Law regulation related to hate crime author sets up some specific problematic issues and discusses solution options.