Police anticorruption policy
The police adopted their anticorruption policy in early 2024. The police do not accept corruption in any form.
The introduction of the policy is based on a recommendation issued by GRECO, the Group of States against Corruption, the Council of Europe anti-corruption body. GRECO recommended that the police develop a dedicated anticorruption strategy/policy which is made known to the public. The recommendation was confirmed in the Government resolution on anti-corruption and the related action plan for 2021–2023.
The content of our policy is built on five anticorruption principles:
- Maintaining high trust in the police
- The police has zero tolerance to corruption
- We are aware of, recognise and manage corruption risks
- We ensure the detection and reporting of misconducts
- Faced with any corruptive features, we take immediate action
Our policy is linked to police values and the Ethical Code for the Police.
”We aim for continued high trust in the police, which is why we do not accept corruption in any form. Our goal is to remain worthy of a high level of trust also in the future, and this requires us to act in accordance with our values in particular," says Visa Weckström, Police Lawyer.
In addition to the National Police Board of Finland's corruption experts, the expertise of the National Bureau of Investigation and a representative of the Office of the Prosecutor General has been utilised in the preparation of police policy. The policy will be supplemented with an implementation plan during 2024.
What does the policy combat?
Corruption is the abuse of influence to gain advantage. Corruption can be divided into financial corruption and ethical corruption.
- Most cases involve financial benefit, which usually refers to various forms of corruption. The most typical situation is probably taking a bribe, which influences or seeks to influence the actions of an official, for example in decision-making concerning the person giving the bribe.
- Ethical corruption, on the other hand, refers to abuse of influence or discretion that does not involve a financial motive. This includes, for example, nepotism that does not involve direct financial gain.
The police do not accept corruption in any form
Since the police combat all forms of corruption, the police policy covers both financial corruption and ethical corruption.
“The policy applies to each and every police officer and unit. Publication of the policy is not linked to any single event or manifestation of corruption. By making the police's own anti-corruption policy more robust, we want to communicate - both within the police and in society at large - that we are further strengthening our integrity,” Weckström says.
Integrity means, among other things, honesty, probity, high morals or forthrightness.
“Despite all preventive measures, corruption can always occur and it is probably impossible to eradicate it entirely,” Weckström says.
