This week, following the initiative of the Minister for the Interior, Marija Golubeva, a working group was set up to identify the problem of hate crimes in Latvia, assess potential obstacles to identifying and detecting hate crimes, as well as identify possible actions in the field of home affairs.
Representatives from the Minister's Office, the State Police, the State Police College, the Ministry of Interior Information Centre, and the State Security Service will participate in the working group.
"Hate crimes do not only affect the victims but our society as a whole. Failure to respond quickly to hate crimes threatens public safety and undermines public confidence in policing. The task force set up at my initiative will help to understand what has already been done to strengthen the police's capacity to respond to hate crimes and what we can do to improve the police's capacity to detect and prevent such crimes. In our society, every member of society must feel safe,” noted the Minister of the Interior Marija Golubeva.
By 16 July 2021, the working group will recognize and collect statistics on hate crimes in Latvia over the last five years. As well as collect information on training programs and courses implemented in Latvia dedicated to the problem of hate crimes.
The working group will also collect information on projects in the home affairs sector that have been implemented over the last five years, which address the problem of hate crimes.
By 9 August 2021, the Working Group should draw up a report on short-term and long-term measures to improve the situation.
Prepared by:
Linda Curika
Advisor to the Minister for the Interior
Strategic Communication Issues
Email: linda.curika@iem.gov.lv