The new police video channel PoliceTube provides information and advice, and evokes feelings

PoliceTube (Poliisitube in Finnish) is a new police video channel that publishes a series of programmes for children and young people, as well as videos related to traffic and improvement of personal safety. It also features video bloggers.

On the publishing date, the police strive to instigate discussion in particular on the subject of hate speech. The number of hate crimes reported to the police has begun to rise sharply. The year before, the number of such crimes increased by more than 50 per cent.

“Hate speech and bullying are paths towards social exclusion. Social exclusion, on the other hand, causes personal suffering, but also constitutes the biggest threat to our internal security. At worst, it can lead to violent radicalisation and extremism,” National Police Commissioner Seppo Kolehmainen pointed out at the publication event of the new channel today, Friday.

“I hope that PoliceTube and the programmes published there will, for their part, instigate discussion about public security of us all. We are also prepared to participate in that discussion ourselves. This afternoon, our experts are ready to answer questions concerning hate speech on-line in social media.”

At least one hundred videos in honour of Finland's centenary celebration year

Between January and June, PoliceTube will publish at least a hundred videos in six different programme categories. The purpose of the channel is to be preventive and informative by nature, but it is also intended to evoke feelings. The channel is available on YouTube. Some of the programmes are subtitled and have Swedish commentary as well.

“PoliceTube is a channel shared by us all and intended for all of us, which fits like a glove into the spirit of the Finland’s centenary celebration year. The programmes feature dozens of people: ordinary Finns, officials, students, young people and children,” says Chief of Communications Marko Luotonen from the National Police Board.

PoliceTube has been designed in collaboration with the production company Aito Media. The programmes for young people have been made by the communication students of Haaga-Helia University of Applied Sciences with their teachers. The visual image of the channel was designed by the communications agency Recommended.

The Stop! programmes present requests as well as orders to people

The programmes in the Stop! category provoke people to think about the phenomena of our times that are of importance socially or with a view to security. In addition to hate speech, the series intends to address such issues as bullying and violence.

“We also present situations in which we not only hope that people would stop, but we order them to stop. We portray staged situations, where the police are tasked with stopping action that endangers someone's health or life,” explains Communications Coordinator Timo Torvinen from the National Police Board.

“The incidents are filmed using a 360-degree technique, which allows people to literally step into the police officer's boots, with the events unfolding around them.”

The Police Lion helps to realise things

The Police Lion is a programme intended for preschool-aged children and young school children. It portrays children as actors who understand and know things.

“The series features a Police Lion, which has adventures with small police constables, and together they guide adults to take the correct action in situations children may find puzzling as well,” says producer Erna Vuorenmaa from Aito Media.

The series was made in collaboration with the Helsinki Police Band. Music plays an essential part in the content of each episode. The Suna school choir from Espoo, trained by Tiina Raula , also appears in the programmes.

- The purpose is to highlight themes related to security in a funny and memorable way. Making music videos with small choir members was very inspiring and captivating, says Sami Ruu suvuori, Chief Conductor of the Helsinki Police Band.

The episodes are also available in Swedish versions on PoliceTube.

Security through the eyes of young people

The programmes intended for young people offered on PoliceTube were made in co-operation with Haaga-Helia University of Applied Sciences.

Furry Constables is a series of funny videos, where the world is seen through the eyes of a dog and a horse. #jeesaakaveria (help your friend) is a series of dramatic videos that address challenges that young people meet in their own world. The topics include prison, bullying in social media, a story of an evening gathering realised in Snapchat style and where it can lead, and the culture of daring others to do things that has become increasingly common among young people.

Lecturer Hanna Leivonniemi and video work teacher Esko Hatunen , who supervised the work, emphasise that addressing young people directly on police channels requires that the content is made by people in the same age group. This is clearly visible in the processing of content, storytelling and the expressions used.

“It was fabulous to see the whole spectrum of expression in the content: from funny humour to rough true stories,” Hatunen points out.

During the project, in addition to video work, the journalist students had a chance to use their professional journalism skills as well. “When planning the stories, we had to consider what could be told and how people's personal stories could and may be presented without violating such principles as privacy protection.”

“The project was so rewarding for both the journalist students of Haaga-Helia and the orderer of the project that we would also like to continue with it in the future,” Leivonniemi says.

Dennis and Heikki on the road

Traffic police officers Dennis and Heikki take to the streets in a patrol car to see what is happening in the field of traffic. There will be about a dozen episodes.

“Traffic education is an important part of traffic safety work, and, as in any police operations, the objective is preventive action ,” says the Dennis of the programme, or Chief Inspector Dennis Pasterstein from the Helsinki Police Department.

In his view, making videos has been nice and interesting – it has meant challenging yourself and putting yourself on the line. In the videos, he works with Inspector Heikki Kallio as his partner.

“The episodes were shot in one take, so let us hope that this does not show too much in the final result.” Real things, genuine expressions and events. “Something always happens when you're out in the field, whether you want it or not,” Pasterstein says with a laugh.

The traffic-related videos have such topics as the darkness and pedestrians and cyclists, a snow storm, driving speeds, a tyre check, automatic traffic surveillance and Segways.

Tips for everyday life from Vinkkari

Vinkkari is a series of videos with short information bulletins on subjects regarding which the police wish to provide advice and operating models. The police offer tips on such matters as how to recognise a real police officer, how to prevent burglaries to apartments and summer cottages, and which forcible measures you are allowed to use to defend yourself. The first video to be released is about how to recognise a real police officer on the telephone.

“In spirit, Vinkkari videos follow the tradition of old Yle (Finnish Broadcasting Company) information bulletins, which began with a person snapping his fingers. The tips cover a wide range of subjects and therefore the target group includes all Finnish people.” “Också på svenska!” says the man who made the Vinkkari videos, Communications Coordinator Mika Hakkarainen from the National Police Board, reminding us that these videos are also available in Swedish.

Every stage of the production of the Vinkkari videos, all the way from the manuscript to ready-made videos, has taken place at police communications. The people performing on the videos include police officers and police college students.

Becoming familiar with the police with the help of vloggers

The police have succeeded in recruiting about a dozen video bloggers for its YouTube channel from different parts of Finland, and some guest stars may also be seen.

“he police officers shoot the videos with their own mobile phone cameras and comment on phenomena they have come across in their own work,” Chief of Communications Nina Juurakko-Vesikko , from the Central Finland Police Department, a vlogger herself, elaborates.

According to Chief Inspector Sami Hätönen , the intention is to increase the transparency of the work of the authorities, and to make the Finnish police easier to approach for the Finnish people.

“In a very concrete form, the videos put a face behind the words each person utters. The police should not remain a faceless authority, but as easy-to-approach person as any other. In my current job role, I do most of my police work behind a desk rather than out in the field, so for me, in practice, social media is the only way of interacting with citizens,” says Hätönen, who works at the National Police Board.

However, Hätönen maintains that, even though he is a sworn advocate of high technology, nothing can replace the personal presence of police officers in the field.

“I take vlogging as a challenge that brings variety to my everyday work. At the same time, it is a privilege for me to be involved in the process of creating new ways of doing police work,” Hätönen points out.

Poliisitube