Poliisin tietoon tullut viharikollisuus Suomessa 2008
A total of 859 incidents reported to the police were classified as hate crimes. Most of them (88%) included racist elements. The number of suspected racist crimes (1163) was notably higher than in previous years. In 2007, there were 454 suspected crimes reported to the police. The proportion of hate crimes based on victim's religion was 6 %, sexual orientation 3 % and disability 3 %. Only one incident was identified as hate crime against a person belonging to a gender minority.
In total, 23 suspected hate crimes against sexual or gender minorities were identified. Most of these cases included assaults or verbal insults or threats. Out of the 53 cases identified as hate crimes based on religion, 17 were targeted against Muslims, and in 16 cases the victim's religion was not specified. The number of hate crimes based on the victim's disability was 28.
Assault was the most common type of racist offence, making up a third of all racist offences (1163). The next common types of offences were defamation, petty assault and menace. More than half of the suspected offences were recorded in Southern Finland, where the majority of the population with a foreign background live.
