ODIHR publishes manual on joint training on hate crime for police and prosecutors in Bulgaria

The OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) launched a new publication to help train police and prosecutors to address hate crimes in Bulgaria at a workshop organized in partnership with the Prosecutor’s Office and the National Institute of Justice on 12 June 2018 in Sofia.

“Good co-operation between police officers and prosecutors is crucial in addressing the issue of hate crime. The innovative joint training manual  combines and enhances ODIHR’s existing curriculum for prosecutors and law enforcement agencies by placing particular emphasis on improving communication between these two groups,” said Christie Edwards, Deputy Head of ODIHR's Tolerance and Non-Discrimination Department. “By bridging the gaps in everyday co-operation between police officers and prosecutors, ODIHR is enhancing the effectiveness of the entire criminal justice system in addressing hate crime.”

The event was held as part of ODIHR’s project Building a Comprehensive Criminal Justice Response to Hate Crime, which has also seen ODIHR organize a series of pilot training courses in Bulgaria for law enforcement personnel and prosecutors in Sofia, Veliko Tarnovo and Plovdiv. The materials in the manual developed for Bulgaria, based on lessons learned from the three pilot courses, will contribute to the development of a larger manual for a broader audience on joint hate crime training for police and prosecutors, to be used in criminal justice systems across the European Union and the OSCE region.

“I am certain that the results of the project and the implementation of the manual will be well integrated with the series of efforts we are engaging in to increase the professional awareness and the effectiveness of the criminal justice response to hate crime,” said Penka Bogdanova, Deputy Prosecutor General of Bulgaria.

The workshop also provided an opportunity for ODIHR to present its legal opinion on certain provisions of the criminal code of Bulgaria pertaining to bias-motivated crime, hate speech and discrimination. ODIHR also opened discussions regarding the prospect of greater inter-agency co-operation on addressing hate crimes among prosecutors, the Ministry of Interior, UNHCR Bulgaria, the Commission for Protection against Discrimination, the Ombuds Office and civil society.