Organisation

Cyprus Police (Aστυνομία Κύπρου).

Start and end date

Start date:

• The policy framework came into force in 2013, when the Cyprus Police and the Office of the Commissioner for Administration and Human Rights (Ombudsperson) signed a bilateral agreement on the topic area.
• The framework was revised in 2019, with new information about lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people added.

End date:

• The practice is still ongoing.

Scope

National.

Target group(s)

Police staff.

Funding

Not applicable.

Objectives

• Improvement of the police training course and development of specialised courses at the Cyprus Police Academy.
• Sensitisation of police officers who come across racist crimes or incidents during their duty and the investigators who investigate such crimes.
• Combat under-reporting and improve the collection of hate crime data.

Outputs

• The training course for police constables recruits includes a lecture on racial discrimination within the framework of the module on fundamental rights.
• Specific training programmes were developed for police staff, such as officers, sergeants, criminal investigation department detectives, staff serving in detention centre for immigrants and staff serving in the community police, on the following topics:
  • combating xenophobia and racism – respect for human rights
  • religious and cultural differences
  • human rights – torture
  • social groups, ethnic groups and behaviour/racism
  • protection of human rights and the prosecution authorities
  • legislation/investigation of offences related to racism
  • police culture and subculture
  • professional police conduct
  • policing a multicultural society
  • policing and the police’s use of violence.
• Improvements in the identification of hate crime motives and hate crime reporting and recording.
  • The Police Code of Ethics was enriched with new provisions concerning the behaviour and equal treatment of victims by the police officers.
  • A folder for human rights and racism was created on the internal website of the police (portal) entitled ‘Human rights’. It informs and raises awareness among all police staff about issues concerning human rights and equal treatment.

Description

The police policy framework aims to prevent and combat racism, discrimination, xenophobia and hate crime. This policy framework was adopted following the promulgation of Law No. 134(I) of 2011 for the harmonisation of the national legislation with the Council Framework Decision 2008/913/JHA of 28 November 2008 on combating certain forms and expressions of racism and xenophobia by means of criminal law. It was conceived to provide guidance to police officers on the identification and investigation of hate crime based on race, community, language, skin colour, religion, political beliefs, ethnic origin, disablity, age, sexual orientation and gender identity, and on associated court processes.

Critical success factors

• Selecting and applying the best practices included in the various circular letters issued by the chief of police.
• Continuous education of police staff to keep them updated and ensure professionalism in the identification, investigation and prosecution of hate crimes.
• Collaboration between the police and other national and European organisations and stakeholders, to develop best practices for combating hate crime.

Actors involved in the design and implementation of the practice

• A Memorandum of Cooperation between the Cyprus Police and 14 nongovernmental organisations was signed on 9 February 2017. It was aimed at improving and developing closer cooperation between the contracting parties for the protection and promotion of the human rights of all citizens, in particular vulnerable groups.
• Based on this practice, the Cyprus Police developed more effective cooperation with the Commissioner for Administration and Human Rights (Ombudsperson) in Cyprus. The Office of the Commissioner for the Administration and Human Rights is an independent body that plays a vital role in the efforts of the police for the effective implementation of the policy framework. It has the authority to intervene independently at any stage of a case or incident by providing remarks and comments.

Monitoring and evaluation

• The Police Office for Combating Discrimination (POCD), under the supervision of the Crime Combating Unit, is responsible for monitoring different elements of the police policy framework. In cooperation with the Ombudsperson, the POCD provides guidance and advice during the identification and investigation of any hate-motivated incident or crime, and the necessary support for the effective implementation of the applicable law and other legal procedures. All incidents or penal cases are forwarded to the Office for Combating Discrimination, for further opinions and instructions, before they are forwarded to the Attorney General of Cyprus. There has been a noticeable increase in the contact points for guidance between crime investigators and the POCD during the last few years, which demonstrates the effectiveness of the practices applied under the police policy framework.
• Evaluation by national and European bodies.
  • Positive remarks and comments have been received from the Commissioner for Administration and Human Rights (Ombudsperson).
  • Cyprus Police has been recognised as having developed advanced training programmes focusing on in-depth analysis of hate crime, hate speech and other relevant topics. This is noted in the manual entitled Hate crime training for law enforcement and criminal justice authorities – 10 key principles (2017, p. 10). In the manual entitled Improving the recording of hate crimes by law enforcement authorities – Key guiding principles (2017, note 22), it is mentioned that Cyprus is one of the EU Member States that “implemented specific instructions, guidance or training on recording hate crime”.

Publicly available contact details

Police contact points:

• Sergeant Constandia Lilly
  Office for Combating Discrimination
  Crime Combating Department
  Cyprus Police
  Email: klilli@police.gov.cy or conlily13@gmail.com
   
• Inspector Georgia Iasonos
  Human Rights Office
  European Union and International Police Cooperation Directorate
  Cyprus Police
  Email: euipcd@police.gov.cy