The COMPASS project (COuntering anti-Muslim Prejudice And Strengthening Solidarity between Police and communities in Greece) is a 24-month initiative funded by the CERV-2025-EQUAL programme, whose main purpose is to combat anti-Muslim hatred in Greece by strengthening the capacities of law enforcement.

COMPASS aims to strengthen the Hellenic Police’s ability to recognise, record, investigate and respond to hate crimes motivated by prejudice against Muslims. It also seeks to rebuild trust between officers and Muslim communities, improving reporting channels and victim protection. In this sense, the project responds to the rise of Islamophobia and intolerance in Greece, where there is a lack of awareness among police personnel regarding what constitutes an anti-Muslim hate crime, which often leads to the “under-classification” of these incidents as ordinary offenses.

The project is led by the Hellenic Police and its consortium includes the Greek National Commission for Human Rights and three specialised research and education institutes: KEMEA (Center for Security Studies), ALLI (Athens Lifelong Learning Institute), and the Euro-Arab Foundation for Higher Studies.

COMPASS will be organised around the following implementation phases:

• Preparatory Phase: Includes a needs analysis and the creation of a pedagogical framework comprising a 10-module curriculum, a trainers’ guide, and an eLearning platform.

• Delivery Phase: Consists of the direct training of 500 police officers of all ranks through 10 in-person seminars and 15 online courses.

• Policy Impact Phase: Aims to permanently integrate these outcomes into police academy training frameworks and disseminate policy recommendations at both the national and EU levels.

Worth highlighting is the gender and intersectionality approach adopted by the project, as COMPASS places special emphasis on Muslim women, who are disproportionately victimised due to their visibility and the combination of religious hatred and sexism.

Regarding expected outcomes, in addition to the trained officers, the project will deliver three policy briefs and a transferability toolkit designed to enable other EU countries to replicate the model.