Recognizing bias, strengthening trust: Anti-discrimination training for police officers

An identity check, an interview with a witness, a response to a dispute: for police officers, these can be routine parts of the working day. But even in routine situations, assumptions about a person’s background, identity or circumstances can influence communication and decision-making.

Recognizing when this happens, and knowing how to respond professionally and without discrimination, is at the heart of specialized training supported by the OSCE Mission to Serbia.

Since 2018, the Mission, in partnership with Serbia’s Ministry of Interior (MoI) and the Commissioner for the Protection of Equality, has been supporting police officers in strengthening their ability to recognize and respond to discrimination and hate crime. More than 900 police officers at operational and mid-management levels have participated in the training to date, including 69 officers in 2026.

For officers participating in the training, the emphasis is on situations they may encounter in their daily work. Sessions cover different forms of discrimination and protected personal characteristics, communication when exercising police powers, gender-based discrimination, national legislation and international human rights standards. Particular attention is given to interactions with groups that may be more exposed to discrimination, including Roma and other minority communities, persons with disabilities, persons discriminated on various grounds and minors.

© OSCE/Vladimir Kostic

A police officer participating in the training said: “We worked through a case involving a Roma woman who had experienced domestic violence, and it made me look closely at my own approach - the questions I ask, how I explain the process, whether she feels she can trust me enough to tell me what actually happened. I realized that building that trust matters as much as knowing the procedure. I can now apply that directly to cases I handle involving victims from the Roma community.” 

From rules to real-life situations

Knowing the law is essential, but recognizing discrimination in practice can be more complicated. This is why trainers from the Commissioner for the Protection of Equality use practical examples and scenarios to take participants beyond definitions and legal provisions.

Officers are encouraged to consider how stereotypes or unconscious assumptions can influence seemingly ordinary decisions: whom to approach, what questions to ask, how to communicate and how to interpret a person’s behaviour.

“Discrimination is rarely something an officer sets out to do - that’s exactly what makes it difficult to recognize. As trainers, we sometimes see the shift happen during the discussion itself: an officer will describe a situation from their own experience, and as we talk it through together, they realize that something they’d always considered routine may have involved an assumption about a person’s gender, ethnicity, disability or another characteristic. These moments matter, because the goal isn’t to tell officers they’re discriminatory – it’s to give them the tools to notice potential bias and make fairer, more professional decisions in situations they encounter every day,” adds Tatjana Jokanović, the Commissioner for the Protection of Equality's expert.

Participants’ knowledge is assessed before and after the training, while evaluation forms provide an opportunity to identify what they found most useful and where they would like to see greater focus. Results have consistently indicated an improved understanding of discrimination-related issues.

Feedback from participants also points to the value of practical guidance, including on communicating with persons with disabilities and responding to situations involving potentially vulnerable groups.

Why trust matters

The training takes place against a broader backdrop of public perceptions about equal treatment. The OSCE Mission to Serbia-supported December 2025 public opinion survey found that more than half of respondents believed police treated people equally regardless of religion (59 per cent), nationality (54 per cent) or gender (53 per cent). At the same time, 65 per cent believed citizens were treated unequally on the basis of their material status and 62 per cent on the basis of political orientation. 

© OSCE/Vladimir Kostic

Complaints and cases documented by the Commissioner for the Protection of Equality provide another perspective on the challenge. The Commissioner’s 2025 Annual Report included allegations concerning ethnic profiling and excessive use of force against members of the Roma community, as well as the unlawful disclosure of individuals’ ethnic backgrounds in public communications by police officials. The report also found that a large majority of documented incidents of discrimination or hate crime against persons discriminated on various grounds had not been reported to the police, prosecutors or courts.

These findings underline a fundamental challenge: laws and procedures provide the framework for equal treatment, but public trust is also shaped by what happens when a police officer and a citizen meet.

“The Mission’s regular opinion survey on the work of the police provides a consistent, evidence-based picture of how citizens experience policing in Serbia. Year after year, it reminds us that trust cannot be taken for granted, it is being built through everyday interactions and depends on people’s feeling that they are treated fairly, professionally and without discrimination, regardless of who they are. Every person should come away from an interaction with the police confident that they were seen, heard and treated professionally. This what non-discriminatory, community-oriented policing is ultimately about,” points out the Head of the OSCE Mission to Serbia, Ambassador Marcel Peško.

For the Mission, strengthening trust between police and the communities they serve is an important element of democratic policing. Practical training complements legal and institutional reforms by giving officers an opportunity to examine how principles of equality and non-discrimination apply to situations they encounter in their everyday work.

Turning awareness into practice

In 2026, the Mission continued its support to the Commissioner and the Ministry of Interior through a further series of three training courses. Participant feedback, including requests for more local case studies and content tailored to situations officers encounter in different communities, is being used to further strengthen the programme.

Although the training is not yet part of the mandatory core curriculum for police cadets, it is regularly provided to serving police officers as part of their continued professional development, helping translate anti-discrimination principles into everyday policing practice.

The programme was also extended to the Ministry of Defence and the Serbian Armed Forces, broadening its reach across the security sector and contributing to the implementation of Serbia’s National Action Plan on UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security.