Cyber crime, hybrid threats, terrorism, organised crime, trafficking in human beings, mobile organised property crime. These are examples of the direction in which the police force’s operating environment has changed and is changing at an ever increasing pace.
The police have sought to react to this by appointing a project administrator, who recommended 73 measures to enhance crime prevention. These recommendations are included in the final report of the project ‘Report on the crime prevention situation’, published today, 22 October 2018.
National Police Commissioner Seppo Kolehmainen finds the report critical to the development of crime prevention.
“In my opinion, it was crucially important to prepare this report now, because the previous similar report was made 15 years ago and the police force’s operating environment has seen remarkable changes,” says Kolehmainen.
Overall picture of crime prevention development needs
The project administrator was Tero Kurenmaa, Deputy Director of the National Bureau of Investigation. He worked as project administrator, appointed by the National Police Board, from 1 April to 30 September 2018. Later, he was appointed Director of the National Bureau of Investigation.
According to Tero Kurenmaa, the purpose of the report was to form a comprehensive view of the development needs in crime prevention.
The state of crime prevention was investigated by interviewing all parties playing a key role in crime prevention. A total of 120 persons participated in the 28 interviews conducted. In addition, police officers were interviewed.
Unprecedented speed and extent of changes
Crime prevention was last studied in Finland 15 years ago, in a report prepared by the Police Department of the Ministry of the Interior (publication 4/2003). The 47 recommendations given were mainly related to property, financial and drug-related crimes.
According to Tero Kurenmaa, the police have been able to assess the different types of crime and challenges reasonably well, but not the extent of the changes or their speed.
“For example, terrorism did not emerge as a challenge for criminal investigation until in the 2010s, when it appeared in the form of terrorist financing, and after then when foreign combatants went abroad from Finland. The first ever incident classified as a terrorist offence in Finland took place in Turku in 2017,” says Kurenmaa.
Police Personal Data Act must allow the use of data
The report includes a total of 73 recommended measures, including on legislation, crime prevention leadership and operating processes, collaboration with various parties, recruitment, HR development and coping at work.
According to Kurenmaa, the reform of the Police Personal Data Act is the key measure in terms of crime prevention by the police
“The Act should be approved so that it allows the efficient storage and utilisation of data, as it is the law that largely determines issues such as how well the police can prevent various mass killings and acts of terrorism.”
He says that it is of the utmost importance that the information systems of the police are up-to-date and can be used effectively.
The information systems must enable the automatic combination of data held by the police, in order to identify various threats.
Long-term approach to funding
According to Kurenmaa, a more long-term approach to resources is needed in police performance management.
“The performance agreements should be valid for longer than one year. In fact, they should be valid for up to one Government term, at least with regard to resource planning.
Recommended measures include recruitment and coping at work.
“The high pressure of cases, alongside complaints and civil law claims targeted at individual police officers, have endangered recruitment into criminal investigation positions and are affecting criminal investigators’ ability to cope at work.
The final report of the project ‘Report on the crime prevention situation’ is available on the poliisi.fi website at
The report is available on the police website at https://www.poliisi.fi/tietoa_poliisista/julkaisut/julkaisu/final_report_of_the_project_report_on_the_crime_prevention_situation
