OSCE Mission to Moldova trains police in Moldova’s north and south to investigate hate crimes

Between 13 and 16 June 2017, the OSCE Mission to Moldova organized two training events in the north and south of Moldova, during which a total of 37 police officers learnt how to effectively identify and investigate bias-motivated crimes, otherwise known as hate crimes.

Police officers attending the event were taught how to gather evidence and identify hate-based motives when investigating crimes, in line with national and international standards. They also had the opportunity to apply their knowledge and skills to a number of case studies and to share experiences of real-life situations they encounter in their work.

Participants noted that it is crucial for law enforcement officers to be able to correctly identify and qualify crimes motivated by bias against a particular group, especially in ethnically and linguistically diverse societies such as Moldova. 

“Such crimes have a particularly damaging impact on society, and that it is why it is important that police officers from across the country are able to correctly identify them,” said a police officer from the Autonomous Territorial Unit of Gagauzia participating in the training in Cahul. 

The first training event was held in Bălţi in Moldova’s north, and the second in Cahul in the south of the country.

This event is one of the ongoing efforts by the OSCE Mission to Moldova to provide support to law enforcement bodies by increasing their institutional capacity to investigate hate crimes. 

For more information about the OSCE’s work to help combat and record bias-motivated crimes, please visit the OSCE/ODIHR Hate Crime Reporting website: http://hatecrime.osce.org/