The SOGI Unit trained, between 15-17 October, 24 law enforcement officers on hate crime against LGBTI persons. The group, composed of participants from 13 different Member States*, included both police officers and prosecutors engaged with hate crime, and was based on the manual on policing hate crime. The training was organised in cooperation with the State Secretary for Equality which is officially part of the Ministry of the Presidency, Relations with the Courts and Equality.

The event launch took place in the premises of the State Secretariat for Equality with an opening panel:

• Soledad Murillo de la Vega, State Secretary for Equality, Spain
• Jaime Cereceda, Head of the Cabinet of Studies, Ministry of Interior, Spain
• Miguel Chambel, Project Manager, SOGI Unit, Council of Europe
• (Moderated by) Ignacio Sola Barleycorn, Director General of Equal Treatment and Diversity, State Secretary for Equality, Spain

The launch was then followed by a presentation by Carlos Morán Ferres (Spanish National Office Against Hate Crimes, Ministry of Interior) on the Spanish National Action Plan to Combat Hate Crimes. Alain Parmentier, President of the European LGBT Police Association, closed the opening with a presentation on his organisation’s work in Europe and its effort to tackle discrimination and hate crime.

The training began in the afternoon of 15 October, led by:

• Herman Renes, police chief inspector and consultant on combatting hate crimes for the Dutch national police
• Joanna Perry, independent consultant, expert on hate crime and co-author of the police hate crime manual

The three days were divided into several sessions focused on group work, situational analyses, in-group discussions and presentations. The inclusion of a victim-perspective was a particular concern to ensure that the focus is in providing protection and support. Several issues were addressed, among which, investigation of hate crimes, collection of evidence and under-reporting of hate crime.

The inclusion of Spanish civil society was another priority, in order to foment relations with law enforcement and emphasise the importance of their work to law enforcement. The training concluded with a joint workshop between law enforcement and civil society representatives coming from different organisations:

• Gaylespol
• FELGBT
• Observatorio Mardileño contra la LGBTIphobia
• Kifif - Migrantes y Refugiados Lesbianas, Gays, Bisexuales y Trans
• LGBTIpol
• Fundación Triángulo

*Countries included: Bulgaria, France, Georgia, Greece, Italy, Lithuania, Moldova, Poland, Portugal, Serbia, Spain, Sweden, UK