Police reached thousands of young people online

From 17 to 23 February 2025, the police had an enhanced presence on the most popular online platforms for young people. During the week, police officers discussed and shared information with young people on how to protect themselves from cybercrime phenomena on Instagram, Snapchat and TikTok, among others.

The aim of the nationwide week-long campaign was to raise young people's awareness of cybercrime, to prevent young people from becoming involved in criminal networks and to discuss the impact of these phenomena on young people's lives. The campaign was a great success, with the police reaching hundreds of thousands of young people through social media and at best the posts attracted more than two million views. Young people were able to find out about phenomena, get answers to their concerns and generally reach the police in the online world, where they can also chat anonymously.

Police officers working with social media in police units posted updates to open up discussion on issues such as grooming, the roadman phenomenon, bullying and cybercrime. Police officers received many confidential private messages, in some cases young people were directed to make a police report. 

“We want the police to be seen as trustworthy, safe and approachable. Since young people spend a significant part of their free time online, so the police must also be able to maintain a similar presence there in the future,” says Chief Superintendent Miia Lehtinen at the National Police Board.

Clear need for police presence online

The Gaming Police were also actively involved in the week by bringing communication aimed at young people close to their own channels. During the week, the Gaming Police organised an Instagram live chat to discuss the themes of the week and answer young people's questions. The Gaming Police were present at the Assembly event, where they had two livestreams on the themes of the week-long monitoring campaign. The streams attracted a total of more than 14,500 individual viewers and viewers sent more than 3,000 chat messages, which indicates that the topic generated a lot of interest and discussion.

There were numerous discussions with young people and adults at the event, which underscored the clear need for a police presence online. The theme was felt to be important, and young people in particular appreciated the chance to interact directly on their own platforms with police officers. 

Young people concerned about the idealisation of a life of crime

In the experience of the police, the roadman culture has often been a precursor before a young person joins a street gang, which is why the police wanted to raise the issue with young people. The discussions revealed that the idealisation of a life of crime, or roadman culture, was also a concern for young people and that they had a clear need to discuss the phenomenon. Texts related to this theme attracted more than 200,000 views online.

Young people who idealise a criminal lifestyle may not understand the seriousness of the acts involved. Young people film acts of violence and post them on social media to gain respect from other young people. This is a very concerning phenomenon. A roadman style can be a style of dress alone and should not be confused with crime. It is something different if a young person who is dressing up is also committing crimes. 

Young people needed safe adults

The police week-long monitoring campaign increased interest and discussion with young people online. The response to the themes generated particular interest. The police were highly commended and received requests to increase their online presence. 

Police officers working with social media in police units were actively involved in the monitoring week and the themes had good visibility. To take an example, the Snapchat stories of one of the officers received around 2.7 million views during the week. The officer had 500 conversations and increased their number of friends by 200.

Some observations:

• Cyber bullying is a sadly familiar phenomenon for young people.
• Young people need safe adults to talk to.
• Young people are also concerned by the idealisation of crime.
• The police need to be online, where young people are too.
• The themes during monitoring week increased the number of contacts with the police by young people, for example in shopping centres.

Police news item 14 February 2025: Enhanced online presence  by police on platforms popular among young people