Policing in 2017: statistics show mostly positive development despite challenging operating conditions
The police recorded a total of 790,691 criminal offences in 2017, which was a few per cent less than in 2016. The number of offences punishable under the Criminal Code of Finland dropped by approximately six per cent. Property crime and road traffic offences decreased, while the number of narcotics offences increased for the fourth year in a row. Especially worrying for the police is young people’s increasingly tolerant attitude towards drug use.
There was no notable change in response times compared to the previous year despite a slight increase in the number of emergency calls. The time it took the police to respond to category A calls remained unchanged although the number of calls increased slightly.
National Police Commissioner Seppo Kolehmainen is reasonably happy with the police’s performance last year.
“The police did pretty well last year on the whole, considering our limited resources, the changes in our operating environment and the simultaneous increase in our statutory duties”, he says.
Kolehmainen feels that the police’s responsibilities and budget are out of synch. He firmly believes that the police will not be able to attend to all their duties efficiently and in the most expedient manner in the future without additional resources.
“Solving this problem requires not only more resources in the long term but also prioritisation of police duties, which calls for decisions from policy-makers”, Kolehmainen says.
Number of emergency calls up slightly
There was no notable change in response times compared to the previous year despite a slight increase in the number of emergency calls. The combined number of category A and category B calls grew by almost 1.5 per cent, and the combined response time deteriorated by just under two per cent compared to the year 2016.
The police’s response time to category A calls improved from 9.4 minutes to 9.3 minutes despite the fact that the number of category A calls increased by 3,341, i.e. by almost five per cent, compared to the previous year.
The police responded to a total of 537,079 category A and B calls in 2017. Category A calls accounted for 74,867 of these.
The slight downward trend in the number of domestic disturbance calls continued. The police responded to 75,340 domestic disturbance calls in 2017, a couple of per cent less than in 2016.
Number of road traffic offences down and positive breathalyser tests up
The total number of road traffic offences recorded by the police continued to decrease. The police recorded a total of 108,636 road traffic offences in 2017, which was approximately 10 per cent less than in 2016. The majority of road traffic offences were conventional traffic safety violations, which numbered 64,013, i.e. almost 16 per cent less than during the previous year.
The number of traffic violations, on the other hand, increased by approximately four per cent, while the same number of incidents causing a serious traffic hazard was recorded as during the previous year. Speeding has decreased, which also shows in fewer consequences. One of the reasons for the number of incidents causing a serious traffic hazard having remained unchanged was the fact that detecting serious offences was one of the year’s surveillance priorities.
The total number of drink-driving offences increased slightly. The police recorded 17,733 drink-driving cases, which was approximately three per cent more than in 2016. The number of offences classified as driving while intoxicated increased by 718, i.e. by just over seven per cent, while the number of offences classified as driving while seriously intoxicated decreased by 203, i.e. by approximately three per cent compared to the previous year. Slightly more breathalyser tests were carried out than during the previous year and the campaigns were also more effective; in other words, it took fewer breathalyser tests on average to catch one intoxicated driver. The number of drivers under the influence of narcotics also increased, which goes some way to explain the increase in the total number of offences classified as driving while intoxicated.
There was no notable change in the effectiveness of automated traffic surveillance. Offences detected by automatic traffic surveillance systems numbered 552,607, which was approximately two per cent more than during the previous year. More systems were installed to make automated traffic surveillance more effective, although the small increase in detected offences was also evidence of a decrease in speeding.
Property crime down
The number of property offences reported to the police continued to decrease. A total of 208,233 property offences were reported to the police in 2017. The length of property crime investigations increased and amounted to an average of 135 days in 2017. The tentative positive trend in the number of property crime cases solved continued in terms of all property crime as well as crimes committed by unknown perpetrators. A total of 37.4 per cent of all property crime cases were solved in 2017.
Efficient communications to prevent internet fraud
A total of 30,580 cases of property crime classified as fraud were reported to the police, which was 9,836 offences or almost 25 per cent less than in 2016.
Especially means-of-payment fraud and fraud originating abroad decreased. Only 3,156 cases of fraud that took place abroad were recorded by the police in 2017, when they numbered 8,098 in 2016. The police’s role in suspected offences committed abroad is to assess the practicality of investigation, i.e. whether the suspect is in Finland and whether evidence and witnesses are the easiest to find in Finland. If they are not, the case is generally not recorded as a criminal offence but filed under miscellaneous, which has decreased the number of offences reported in statistics.
The police have run numerous campaigns to educate the public and prevent phishing, means-of-payment fraud and other forms of internet fraud. The public have been reminded about the dangers of e-commerce, warned about fraudsters posing as police officers and told not to give their online banking or debit card details to anyone – not even the police.
This phenomenon of criminals impersonating police officers is still continuing, and it is important that the police’s stakeholders also disseminate information actively.
Internet fraud, i.e. cases of fraud where the internet is entered as the location, decreased from the approximately 18,500 cases in 2016 to approximately 12,000 cases. Quantitatively speaking, internet-based means-of-payment fraud decreased the most, as approximately 4,700 cases less were reported in 2017 than in 2016. Changes in the police’s practices in recording the internet as the location of an offence have also affected these figures.
Focus on combating cross-border crime
With regard to property offences classified as theft, the number of burglaries continued to decrease. Cases of aggravated theft and attempted aggravated theft targeted at residential properties decreased the most. Almost 30 per cent of known suspects in aggravated theft cases were foreign nationals.
The positive trend is partially due to the police’s efforts to combat cross-border crime. Thanks to more efficient procedures, exchange of information and international cooperation, the police have managed to both detect and prevent foreign professional criminals’ residential burglary attempts in Finland.
Number of narcotics offences up as a result of more efficient crime detection
The total number of narcotics offences grew for the fourth year in a row. A total of 23,965 narcotics offences were recorded, which was more than eight per cent more than during the previous year. The number of aggravated narcotics offences recorded was 1,004, which was 87 more than in 2016. The number of detected aggravated narcotics offences grew by almost 10 per cent.
The increase in the number of recorded narcotics offences is not directly indicative of an increase in drug crime, as there is no injured party involved in such cases. Narcotics offences often come to light as a result of the police’s own crime detection efforts.
The police have successfully used their limited resources to detect drug crime at different tiers of the phenomenon. The operating environment has become more challenging in recent years in this respect as well, due to, among other things, the fact that drugs have become more and more widely available through anonymous online marketplaces. The police have increased their online presence and, for example, ran a nationwide online surveillance campaign last autumn.
The number of detected narcotics offences nevertheless suggests that drug use is increasing. This conclusion is also supported by, for example, a survey relating to drug use and sewage tests carried out by the National Institute for Health and Welfare in certain towns and cities.
The police regard the relaxation of attitudes towards drug use among young people in particular as a worrying phenomenon. Considering the growing availability of narcotics through anonymous online networks, for example, this could create conditions for increasingly widespread and serious drug problems and an increase in associated offences committed by drug users (such as property crime).
Just under 22 per cent of aggravated narcotics offences were committed by foreign nationals. The percentage of foreign perpetrators is relatively high when it comes to aggravated narcotics offences, compared to less serious narcotics offences, for example. On the other hand, this also reflects the international nature of these offences especially in terms of import.
The police will continue to target investigations so as to bring offenders at different levels of the distribution chain – including foreign perpetrators – to justice in the future as well.
Financial crime down after a growing trend in recent years
A total of 1,989 cases involving financial crime were reported to the police, which was approximately five per cent less than in 2016. The cases involved a total of 3,398 individual financial offences. The decrease is attributable to several factors, such as preventive measures taken by the authorities and businesses. Examples include a nationwide public awareness campaign run by the National Police Board and stakeholders to educate the public about the underground economy and increasing the use of self-monitoring and other preventive mechanisms in the business sector and especially in the construction industry. The police have also focused more on enforcing business prohibitions and carried out more tax number inspections at building sites.
No change in violent crime but average length of investigations up by more than one week
There was no notable change in the total number of violent crimes. The percentage of violent crimes solved dropped slightly while the average length of investigations continued to increase. An average of 65 per cent of violent crimes were solved in 2017, and the average length of investigations was 163 days, which was eight days more than during the previous year.
The number of assaults increased slightly. Assaults committed in public places numbered 15,568, which was approximately four per cent more than during the previous year.
Assaults committed on private property numbered 18,912, which was just under half a per cent less than during the previous year. Domestic violence cases numbered 4,745, which was approximately three per cent less than during the previous year.
The downward trend in the number of homicides continued. Fewer homicides were recorded in 2017 than during the two previous years: 74 in total. The number of attempted homicides, on the other hand, increased by 58, which meant that the combined number of homicides and attempted homicides rose to 468.
Rape cases up by nine per cent
There was no notable change in the total number of sex offences compared to the previous year. Sex offences classified as rape numbered 1,272, which was 105 cases or nine per cent more than during the previous year.
The suspected sex offender’s identity was known in 2,418 cases. Foreign nationals accounted for 568 of these, or just over 23 per cent of all suspects. The percentage of foreign nationals among identified suspects fell slightly.
The identity of suspects in sex offence cases classified as rape was known in slightly more cases than during the previous year, i.e. in 994 cases. Foreign nationals were suspected in 285 cases, i.e. in almost 29 per cent of rape cases where the suspect’s identity had been established.
While the number of rape cases and the percentage of cases solved increased, the percentage of foreign perpetrators fell by just over five percentage points compared to the year 2016. It is important to note that a rape case does not necessarily consist of a single offence but can involve dozens of offences that have taken place over a longer period of time preceding the initial report and that are recorded either at the beginning or in the course of the criminal investigation. This as well as recording practices also have an effect on statistics.
Sexual harassment cases reported to the police down by a considerable margin
The number of sexual harassment cases reported to the police decreased by almost 21 per cent compared to the previous year, i.e. from 536 cases to 425 cases.
The Criminal Code of Finland defines punishable sexual harassment as committing, by touching, a sexual act towards another person that is conducive to violating the right of this person to sexual self-determination. The so-called #MeToo campaign made sexual harassment a hot topic in public debate in 2017. Crime statistics did not reflect this, however, as the number of reported cases of sexual harassment decreased.
Foreign nationals accounted for approximately 46 per cent of suspects in sexual harassment cases in 2016, which means that the percentage of foreign suspects fell by almost 15 percentage points in 2017 and their number by just over 46 per cent compared to the previous year.
Of the 425 cases of sexual harassment reported in 2017, the suspect’s identity was known to the police in 255 cases. Just over 31 per cent of these suspects were foreign nationals, i.e. the suspect was foreign in 80 cases.
Percentage of offences committed by foreign nationals down
Foreign nationals accounted for fewer criminal offences where the perpetrator was known in terms of both number and percentage. Foreign nationals were suspected in a total of 38,347 cases, which was just under six per cent of all criminal offences where the perpetrator was known. The number was down by approximately three per cent.
Total number of permit and licence applications processed by the police down and use of online services up
Permits and licences for foreign nationals, which were formerly the police’s responsibility, were reassigned to the Finnish Immigration Service as of the beginning of 2017. The reassignment of permits and licences for foreign nationals as well as a drop in the number of passport applications meant that the total number of permit and licence applications processed by the police decreased by nine per cent compared to the previous year.
Despite the decrease in the total number, increases were recorded in two categories: the number of ID cards increased by approximately 23 per cent and other permits and licences by approximately three per cent compared to the year 2016.
A total of approximately 546,000 electronic passport applications were submitted during 2017, which accounted for just over 70 per cent of all passport applications. The number of electronic passport applications increased by approximately 10 percentage points compared to the year 2016. Approximately 296,000 of these, almost 40 per cent of the total number of passports, were so-called fast-track applications that did not require a visit to a police station in person.
A total of approximately 196,000 ID card applications were submitted in 2017, of which 54 per cent, i.e. approximately 106,000 applications, were submitted electronically. The police’s online services can also be used to apply for fund-raising licences and some security-sector licences. Approximately 37 per cent of security-sector licence applications were submitted electronically last year. The figure for fund-raising licences was nine per cent.
Policing resources down by 70 person-years
Policing resources decreased by just under one per cent, i.e. by approximately 70 person-years, compared to the previous year. The strength of the police force amounted to 7,148 person-years in 2017 and to 7,219 person-years in 2016. The total number of police personnel decreased by approximately 1.7 per cent, or 163 person-years.
2,400 unsuccessful asylum seekers removed from the country by the police
Criminal cases where the injured party was an asylum seeker numbered 1,866 and cases where the suspect was an asylum seeker 2,690 in total in 2017. The figures are largely similar to the previous year’s numbers: the number of asylum seekers as injured parties fell by 23 but the number of asylum seekers suspected of criminal offences increased by 26. The most common offences involving asylum seekers were assault, menace, theft, petty theft and petty assault.
Crime statistics cover asylum seekers representing the biggest nationality groups.
Finland received a total of 5,081 asylum applications during 2017 and a total of 5,651 applications in 2016. A total of 1,963 of the 5,081 asylum applications submitted in 2017 – almost 40 per cent of all applications submitted in 2017 – were reapplications.
The police removed a total of approximately 2,400 unsuccessful applicants from the country and referred hundreds to the voluntary return scheme in 2017. Asylum seekers were returned to approximately 100 different countries.
The number of people residing in the country illegally does not appear to have increased so far, but the risk of an increase still exists.
Police statistics 1.1.-31.12.2017 pdf, 201,8 kB
Police statistics 1.1.-31.12.2017 percentage of crimes comitted by foreign nationals pdf, 201,3 kB
Police statistics 1.1.-31.12.2017 asulym seekers pdf, 325,4 kB
