Cybercrime Exit – prevention of cybercrime committed by young people

The Cybercrime Exit project is part of the special preventive operations of the Police, with the aim of preventing serious cybercrime committed by the young, including the ensuing human suffering and damage to individuals, organisations and society. The operations were launched by the Cybercrime Prevention Centre of the National Bureau of Investigation in 2020.

The target group of the operations are young people between 12 to 25 years of age, guilty of an act of cybercrime or in danger of committing serious cybercrime in the future. The age range of the target group is flexible since the limits of criminal action may be tested and exceeded already at an earlier age.

The operations focus on cybercrime targeted at and committed in the information network or information systems; this type of crime cannot be committed outside them (so-called cyber-dependent crime). Such acts may include hacking or various denial of service (DoS) attacks with the intention of disrupting or disturbing services. It is characteristic of cybercrime that they are often preparatory or ancillary acts related to other types of offences.

The Cybercrime Exit project works to prevent the phenomenon of cybercrime, to implement models which help to interrupt the spirals of crime and to support the young trying to break away from the life of criminality, all part of the Police Exit activities.

The premise of the operations is to teach the young to recognise what is legal and what is illegal, to develop their competence in the realms of information networks and systems and to utilise them for legal purposes. Adopting a responsible operative culture is core for the growth towards becoming an IT professional.

How to get involved in project operations?

The young themselves can seek participation in the project operations or, alternatively, professionals can refer them to the project. What is essential is the young person’s own interest to break away from the cybercrime spiral and to identify a way of life that encourages such transition.

The operations are voluntary and extremely confidential by nature. Any potential transmission of the clients’ personal data is always subject to a specific agreement with the client.

Seeking the operations or even a contact does not bind the client in any way but each young person has an individual assessment and workplan made. 

The premises of the operations are:

• Identifying the borderline between legal and illegal operations and strengthening a crime-free way of life.
• Charting work and study possibilities which support competence, as well as to provide other support in the life situation, together with the network.
• Guiding the young towards a network that supports a legal operating culture, for example, after a sentence has been served.

Depending on the individuals’ situation, including their age, we work in collaboration with the local police, the Ankkuri programme workers and other authorities. Other cooperation parties include youth work, social work, the Prison and Probation Service of Finland as well as cyber and IT business companies and corporations.

Information networks are an integral part of the everyday life of both individuals and society at large. Their role is highlighted in the rapidly increasing development of digitalisation. From early on, information networks are a natural part of the thinking and experience environment of children and the young. Increased awareness of the limits of moving about in the information networks, and the inherent risks, play a significant role in prevention of cybercrime.

Contact information

Cybercrime Exit operations and the project are led by project manager Viivi Lehtinen, inspector Aki Somerkallio and inspector Sari Latomaa. Contact related to the operation can be sent to the email address cybercrime.exit.krp@poliisi.fi.