Between 5 October and 30 November 2023, the OSCE Mission in Kosovo, in co-operation with Kosovo Police, trained a total of 142 police officers from different communities on individual needs assessment for victims of hate crimes.
The training followed a specialized practical training of trainers' course delivered to 12 police officers in May 2023, in co-operation with the Office for Democratic Institution and Human Rights (ODIHR), on individual needs assessment techniques, solely focusing on victims of hate crime cases. As a result, the group of newly trained officers, with the assistance of the OSCE Mission staff, cascaded the training to all eight police regions Kosovo-wide, targeting police officers entrusted with handling hate crime cases alongside their other operational duties.
Anita Pasha, OSCE Mission in Kosovo Programme Officer, emphasized the distinct nature of hate crimes and their significant impact on victims. She highlighted the importance of law enforcement officers being equipped with the skills to understand and address the unique needs of victims of bias-motivated crimes.
Trainers elaborated on the concept of hate crimes, legal framework and special techniques of individual needs assessment in hate crime cases, as well as on the sensitive and respectful treatment of victims to avoid secondary victimization. Participants were also introduced to essential elements of assessment process and discussed the practical application of a questionnaire stemming from the OSCE Model Guidance on Individual Needs Assessments of Hate Crime Victims, focusing on the types of information that can be collected by the law enforcement officers on victims' needs. In addition, through case scenarios employed during the training, they discussed relevant bias indicators and map service providers for the victims of hate crimes.
Dzenita Ujkanović from Mitrovica/Mitrovicë North said that the knowledge she gained during the training would help her to better assess and properly identify specific needs of victims of hate crimes, while Avdyl Krasniqi from Rahovec/Orahovac police station stated that the training had furthered his skills, specifically in identifying evidence related to bias motivated crimes at crime scenes.
For Lulëzim Borovci, one of Kosovo Police trainers, these eight training sessions had been a great experience for him as a trainer, and an opportunity to also receive a lot of information from police officers on their real experiences while working on hate crime cases and with victims of such crimes.
The OSCE Mission remains committed to supporting Kosovo Police in furthering their capacities to safeguard and ensure that victims of hate crimes receive respectful treatment throughout police procedures.
