Improving police response: The case for a police-centric approach to hate crime training

In recent years, scholars have linked the (in)effectiveness of police response to hate crime to the quality of training received by officers. While some have critiqued police training for being insufficient, inadequate and thus ineffective, making suggestions for improvements, few studies have examined the effect of changes to training on the experiences of officers. In this article, we examine the evolution of hate crime training in Nottinghamshire, a mid-sized city in England, and two successive hate crime training modules that sought to address criticisms of in-service training. First, this article argues that to improve in-service hate crime training, a multisectoral approach to training design and delivery, which includes victim and community perspectives, is crucial. Second, we argue that training development must prioritise the feedback of police officers through continual evaluation and revision. Third, while training must incorporate both the perspectives of victims and communities for it to be effective, a police-centric framework is needed to engage with officers, learning styles and policing roles, improving officers’ understanding, retention and application.