Hate Crime Training for Polish Police: Train-the-trainer Course

ODIHR’s three-day training workshop will prepare participants – police officers from across Poland – to train other police officers to recognize and work with hate crime cases and hate crime victims. This approach will enable ODIHR’s comprehensive Training on Hate Crime for Law Enforcement (TAHCLE) programme to be applied throughout Poland’s Police service.

Participants will begin by exploring the nature and extent of bias and prejudice in their communities to enable them to understand more about the concept of hate crime and how it impacts victims. They will learn to identify and investigate potential hate crime cases using practical tools and through discussing case studies. They will also identify steps to overcome barriers to addressing hate crimes by the police and learn about the essentials of sensitive and respectful treatment of hate crime victims. On the final day, participants will have the opportunity to practice delivering the training content to their colleagues before receiving feedback and training tips.

Why is this important?

Police play a key role in efforts to address hate crime. When equipped with the tools and knowledge to recognize, identify and record hate crime cases, police are able to treat hate crimes as hate crimes (taking into account the bias motivation behind the crime), thus ensuring they are addressed effectively and enabling appropriate support and protection for victims.