The number of suspected hate crimes in Finland has risen for the third year in a row
Published
The number of suspected hate crimes in Finland has risen to a record high for the third year in a row. The police have recorded a total of 1,941 crime reports in which a hate motive is suspected. The data shows that the number of hate-motivated crimes has clearly increased compared with previous years.
A hate crime refers to a crime in which the perpetrator has chosen the victim on the basis of, for example, their ethnic background, religion, sexual orientation or disability. Such crimes may target individual people, but they can also affect a wider group that feels threatened.
The police say that the increase in reports does not necessarily mean only that crimes are becoming more common. People are reporting crimes more often than before, and the police's recording practices have also developed. Authorities urge everyone who becomes the target of a hate-motivated crime, or who witnesses one, to report it to the police.
The growth, which has continued for a third consecutive year, is causing concern among both authorities and civil society organisations. Experts stress that preventing hate crimes requires both criminal law measures and education and public debate. More information about the new statistics will be published later.
Sources: Daily Finland
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