The National Police Board is to carry out a nationwide review of the current state of licence administration and its future outlook.
”The goal is to examine licence administration and the efficiency, productivity and effectiveness of its structures and operational processes,” says Deputy Police Chief Jarmo Nykänen at Eastern Finland Police Department, who has been appointed to carry out the review.
Whereas passports and ID cards account for the main licences and permits issued by the police, they also issue firearm permits, guard, security officer and security steward identity cards. Decision-making concerning public events also comes within the remit of the police.
Police licence administration also includes field control and monitoring minor offences of licence holders.
Licence supervision measures include decisions to cancel licences or issue warnings concerning them. In practice this means, for example, cancelling the firearms permit of an intoxicant abuser or revoking the guard identity card of a guard who behaves violently.
Police licence administration also includes sanction decisions involving the right to drive. Such decisions include temporary driving bans and warnings.
According to Nykänen, police licence administration is tasked with preventing crime, public disorder and disruptions to public safety and security through administrative decision-making and surveillance measures.
“In practice, this means that permits and licences are only issued to those persons who meet the criteria for them. In addition, licences and permits are withdrawn from persons who are no longer considered to be suitable as licence holders.”
Similar reviews have been conducted on police crime prevention, control and emergency operations. The crime prevention review was carried out in 2018 by Tero Kurenmaa, Deputy Director of the National Bureau of Investigation at the time, and the review of control and emergency operations was carried out by Deputy Police Chief Arto Karnaranta at Oulu Police Department.
Based on these reviews, numerous development measures have been initiated and implemented in crime prevention and control and emergency operations.
