More effective response to hate speech and hate crime by the police

The police plan to intervene in hate speech in a systematic and effective manner, regardless of whether it stems from violent radicalisation, xenophobic incitement of hatred or bullying at school. In particular, the police are seeking to protect children and young people from hate speech.

Prevention will be the primary means of addressing hate speech. Meanwhile, the focus of criminal investigation will be on actively discovering and intervening in punishable online hate speech.

These measures, among others, are proposed in the action plan on the enhanced prevention of hate speech, recently completed by the National Police Board.

As a concept, hate speech is open to various interpretations. Hate speech on the Internet and elsewhere can meet the statutory definitions of several offences. Hate speech, where it meets the statutory definition of an offence, is considered a hate crime.

The police will not tolerate hate speech

Timo Kilpeläinen , the chair of the working group that drew up the action plan, emphasises that the police administration already had a zero tolerance policy towards racist and other hate speech, hate crime and violent extremist movements. The police have been developing know-how in their prevention for years.

According to Kilpeläinen, the activities of organised extremists and very violent hate speech have become more common in Finland.

“Hate speech and hate crime are related to phenomena such as violent radicalisation, extremism and the feeling of safety. In particular, hate speech may encourage people in a vulnerable position to join in violent action. The targets of hate speech are also in danger of radicalisation, particularly if they feel that society and the authorities do not react to it with sufficient vigour. Hate crime always affects not only the victim but a wider group of people. Such crimes are viewed as a threat towards the group of people the victim represents, or is assumed to represent,” Kilpeläinen explains.

Centralised investigation and prevention of hate speech

The new action plan proposes that a special group be set up to prevent hate speech, by combining visible action by the police on the social media with other police operations.

“The group will educate citizens, the authorities, and other parties on hate speech and crime. It will also act as the police’s specialist in these matters and offer an easy, low-threshold channel for anyone wishing to contact it,” Kilpeläinen says.

The action plan also proposes that the police develop its operations by centralising the investigation of crime into a single unit at national level. This will enhance the investigation of online crime. Education about hate crime and its prevention will also be stepped up.

Hate crime module to be included in further training

Chief Superintendent Måns Enqvist from the National Police Board says that the prevention of hate crime has been addressed in basic police training and annual human rights seminars.

“The police administration has planned and developed a separate further training module on recognising and encountering hate crime in police work. The National Police Board has also signed a memorandum of understanding with the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) concerning the implementation of a police training programme on the prevention of hate crime. The programme aims to train hate crime trainers,” Enqvist says.

According to Enqvist, the training seeks to ensure that all levels of police administration are experienced in the prevention of hate crime. That is why all police units at all levels are required to send participants to the training.

Online police to participate in the prevention of hate crime

Online police operations will increase their emphasis on the prevention of hate speech and crime.

“Preventive online police operations do not aim to restrict citizens’ freedom of speech. Instead, the police aim to ensure general order and safety, including on the social media,” Enqvist says.

People who generate punishable hate speech aim, for example, to reduce the freedom of speech of others. This has sometimes resulted in a situation where decision-makers, officers, researchers and journalists have been the target of systematic hate campaigns aimed at limiting public discussion of various matters.

The plan is to implement the enhanced operating model in early 2017. Until then, online police operations and the prevention of hate crime will continue based on the existing resources and methods.

The implementation of the new operating model will require some reallocation of resources. The police administration will allocate resources after a final decision on the amendment to the budget proposal, proposed by the Ministry of the Interior, is made in the near future.

Attachment: the final report of the working group preparing the action plan on the prevention of hate speech and crime (in Finnish) pdf, 346,3 kB