The mandate of the Group is to build the capacities of the regional police districts through training and guidance and, if necessary, to provide assistance in specific cases. The Attorney General's Annual Circular, which sets out goals and priorities for the year for police and prosecution services, has included hate crime as a priority area for over 20 years.
This means that hate crime cases, whatever the severity, are given priority and cannot be dismissed due to capacity or other reasons within police districts. The breakdown below excludes the offences of discrimination, harassing conduct and hate speech, which fall outside the OSCE's hate crime definition. In , the following Action Plans continued to be implemented:. Action Plan against Discrimination and Hatred towards Muslims, ; and.
In a notable case, a man with a cognitive disability was struck in the face by a year-old boy, causing him to fall and hit his head on the ground. This resulted in significant injuries, including multiple facial and skull fractures and a brain hemorrhage.
The court concluded that the defendant was aware of the victim's disability, and also that the attack was at least partially motivated by his disability. This was the first verdict involving a disability motive in Norway.
In August , the court convicted the perpetrator of the charges and sentenced him to three years of juvenile punishment. He was also ordered to pay a total of 1,, Norwegian kroner to the victim.
