Police ‘guide’ to improve prosecution of hate crimes and care of victims

Police ‘guide’ to improve prosecution of hate crimes and care of victims.

THE National Office for the Fight against Hate Crimes of the Ministry of the Interior has prepared two action manuals to improve the way in which hate crimes are dealt with and the language and terminology used when dealing with victims.

Special attention has been given to people with disabilities, in which the guide recommends National and Guardia Civil officers avoid “technical and complicated language”.

Officers are reminded that “it may be more difficult for these people to understand that they have been victims of a hate crime and, therefore, report it”.

A “simpler and more direct language” is advised “which allows victims to understand the situation they are suffering”, recommends the manual.

Stress elements must be “eliminated” for the victim, while reports about alleged perpetrators should be “as detailed as possible”, and include everything from clothing descriptions and tattoos through to details of their expressions and comments”.

The two guides complement the Protocol of Action of the Security Forces and Bodies for hate crimes and behaviours that violate legal norms on discrimination, published in July 2020 by the Secretary of State for Security.

This includes guidelines on how to investigate hate crimes, how to prepare police reports, their subsequent procedural processing, as well as improving the statistical register to obtain the broadest and most complete view of the incidence rate in Spain.

Victims of any form of hate crime are urged to contact the National Police or Guardia Civil on 091 and 062, respectively, or report incidents of this kind through ALERTCOPS, a free mobile application that acts as a communication channel with the Security Forces to report events quickly and discreetly.

Thank you for taking the time to read this news article “Police ‘guide’ to improve prosecution of hate crimes and care of victims”. For more UK daily news, Spanish daily news and Global news stories, visit the Euro Weekly News home page.