The Police of Finland is launching its Pysähdy! (Stop!) campaign, which aims to stop and wake people up, as well as encourage them to get timely help from the right parties. Based on police analysis, five phenomena that have been highlighted during the Covid-19 pandemic were chosen for the campaign: mental health problems, substance abuse, violence in close relationships, online fraud and road safety.
“As the Covid-19 crisis continues, the police are worried about people who were already in a difficult situation after the first Covid-19 wave. On one hand, it is essential to prevent new coronavirus infections, but on the other, it is important to remember and be aware that loneliness, financial problems, substance abuse and mental health issues have taken many people near the edge since the spring. We want to remind people to take care of one another and tell them that you can always get help. Nobody should be left alone,” says National Police Commissioner Seppo Kolehmainen .
Covid-19 has increased substance abuse and affected wellbeing negatively
During the Covid-19 pandemic, violence reported to the police has decreased, especially in public places. Yet violent acts increasingly take place at home. Some cases are hidden, but there are already signs that serious violence such as aggravated assault and even homicide have increased significantly.
The police assumed that the pandemic would decrease the number of assignments related to the use of alcohol. However, the opposite has been the case. Assignments related to alcohol use (assaults, intoxicated people, disorderly conduct, domestic alerts and drink driving), increased by 16% between January and September compared to 2019. The number of assignments has increased by approximately 33,000 cases.
“Compared to last year, the number of home alerts increased the most, by approximately 14,400 (+27.8%) cases. Disorderly conduct was also on the increase, with nearly +18,000 (+27.2%) cases,” says Chief Superintendent Ari Järvenpää.
In addition, the total number of narcotics offences grew strongly compared to last year. The total number of narcotics offences discovered by the police between January and September grew around 32% (from 21,185 to 28,079 cases). Drug-related crime is mainly well hidden and usually only discovered in connection with other police measures and surveillance connected with other crime. The number of discovered cases is affected by the resources available to the police’s surveillance efforts, but recent studies have also reported a strong increase in the use of illegal substances.
The Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare, THL, published a press release on their wastewater study that showed a continuous long-term increase in substance use. For example, the combined total of amphetamine, methamphetamine and cocaine used has approximately tripled compared with 2012, when the wastewater study began.
Detective Chief Inspector Kari Siivo says that it is difficult to accurately assess how much the Covid-19 pandemic has affected the use of narcotics, but based on the things mentioned above, it can be concluded that the situation has had a negative effect on substance use and people’s wellbeing in general.
Stop! Wake up! Get help!
The campaign is visible wherever people are, i.e. on the internet, but also on the streets of city centres. The organisers hope that the campaign will reach those who need help in various ways. They cooperate with stakeholders and use videos, advertise on social media channels and on buses, make podcasts and print out material to help people get help.
“We hope that the campaign will contribute to getting timely help to people who need it, and that the material will be used as widely as possible. Everybody should get help as early as possible,” says Chief Superintendent Pekka Heikkinen .
One of the stakeholder partners is Victim Support Finland (RIKU), which is also ready to provide help.
“We want to highlight that help and support are available for crime victims during the Covid-19 pandemic too. Nobody should be left alone. You should always make sure that you can enjoy your rights and discuss your situation. Victims should not be blamed for crimes,” emphasises Leena-Kaisa Åberg , Executive Director of Victim Support Finland.
“Each of us should take care of ourselves and the people close to us. You should stop, wake up and get help at the latest when you yourself or someone close to you is starting to have violent or suicidal thoughts, and is losing control over your or their own life in any way,” says Heikkinen.
Further information about the campaign is available at poliisi.fi/pysahdy
