Police strategy updated to match operating environment; Police wants to safeguard all people at all times

Covering letter

Consistency and systematic modes of operation are the core and dispensable part of the Police operating culture and success.

The new Police strategy now replaces the existing one implemented earlier. The Police vision and values remain unchanged.

Together with the legislation and other norms directing the Police work, the above strategy entity constitutes the basis and foundations for all Police operations. The strategy has been drafted on the basis of the outlines steering Police operations, to reflect the current operating environment.

Over the past few years, the security environment in Finland – and Europe as a whole – has undergone great, rapid and party unforeseen change.

These factors cause repercussions for all aspects of Police operations.

− In the daily work, the Police must respond to the radical changes in the operating environment. To manage the threats faced here, the updated Police strategy sets out objectives that provide the setting for all Police operations.

Moreover, the strategy defines the actions that are prioritised in Police operations to meet the strategic objectives. The foundation of the strategic objectives is constituted by the enabling factors that cut through and support all operations.

In line with the updated strategy, the Police secures social balance and tranquillity, at the same time maintaining a high level of confidence in the Police itself. It is our daily task to show that the Police has earned the confidence we currently enjoy. Each and every person working in the Police administration plays a significant role in this respect. We must also be prepared to face anything possible, even impossible. The success of the Police in meeting these goals will also have a growing impact on Finland’s external security.

In general, and especially in current circumstances, consistency and systematic modes of operation are the core and dispensable part of the Police operating culture and success. The new strategy sets the check marks for all of us at the Police, National Police Commissioner Seppo Kolehmainen states.

− A consistent Police operates on all levels, promoting the strategic objectives and respecting the Police values. This makes it possible for us to live by our vision and safeguard all people at all times.

Police Strategy 2024–2028

The strategy, vision and values of the police, together with the legislation and other standards that govern the police, form the basis and foundation for all police activities.

Trends in the police environment

Trends in the police environment include:

• Planned changes
• Criminality
• Population
• Technology
• Public discussion
• Structural capital
• Physical capital
• Relational capital
• Financial capital
• Human capital

Phenomena in the police environment

Phenomena affecting the police environment include:

• Crime will change into more internationalised, serious and digitalised forms, and is in constant change.
• Hybrid influencing will intensify and internal and external security become more intertwined.
• Increase and harmonisation of national and international legislation, international cooperation.
• Climate change and geopolitical risks as well as NATO impacts.
• Polarisation and increase in societal contrasts and antagonisms.
• Online services, AI and digitalisation.
• New gang formation trends and increase in youth crime.
• Fake news production and distribution and influencing through information, increase in civil disobedience.
• Accelerating technological development, increase in data masses.
• Competition for labour force, ensuring competences and change in ways of working.
• Changing population factors: increase in numbers, foreign languages, single living, ageing, urbanisation, multilocation, marginalisation

Police vision

The Police safeguards everyone, at all times.

Police values

The values of the police are service, fairness, competence and staff wellbeing.

Police Strategy

The five points of the police strategy are:

1. We secure social balance and tranquility and maintain a high level of confidence in the Police
2. We prevent crime and disturbances
3. We uncover and solve crimes efficiently
4. We provide modern and efficient Police services
5. We enchance the wellbeing, competence and commitment of our staff

The five points of the police strategy in more detail

1. We secure social balance and tranquility and maintain a high level of confidence in the Police

These are our priorities:

• Our operations are ethical, coherent, human, fair and interactive. 
• We communicate actively, openly and in an information-based manner on the internal security phenomena and the Police operative duties.
• We enhance the Police capabilities to recognise and combat hybrid threats efficiently.  
• We collaborate actively with our partners and the civil society to improve social balance and the feeling of safety and security. 
• We are visible, easily approachable and in all our operations, keep up the Police reputation and trust in us.

2. We prevent crime and disturbances

These are our priorities:

• Based on information, we supervise and intervene with the most serious crime according to plan and in a preventive manner. 
• In particular, we prevent youth and gang crime and radicalisation in collaboration with other security authorities and cooperation parties. 
• We improve the efficiency and efficacy of our traffic safety work. 
• We make efficient use of preventive tools and the capacities of administrative crime prevention in all sectors of policing.
• We intensify national and international cooperation to prevent and analyse crime and threats to internal security.

3. We uncover and solve crimes efficiently

These are our priorities:

• We invest in crime intelligence and efficiently uncover the most serious and societally significant crimes.  
• We intensify and standardise the preparatory and starting steps of the criminal procedure neutrally, irrespective of the crime category. 
• We keep up a high level of solving homicides and other serious crimes against persons. 
• We improve the efficiency of crime prevention, especially in daily crime investigation. 
• We improve the consistent quality and flow-through of pretrial investigation as well as the materialisation of legal protection in all parts of the investigation.

4. We provide modern and efficient Police services

These are our priorities:

• We handle urgent emergency tasks efficiently. 
• We develop our services according to plan, with due attention to coherence, operativeness and financial efficiency. 
• In providing Police services, we are flexible in considering the needs of various customer groups. 
• We use our resources in a cross-cutting manner, and target them based on information. 
• We accentuate the development of the Police digital services, making use of the possibilities provided by technology. 

5. We enchance the wellbeing, competence and commitment of our staff 

These are our priorities:

• We improve the staff’s working capacity, work-related wellbeing and promote a community spirit among those who work with us. 
• We take care of work-related safety and support and protect our staff against any threats at work.
• We improve the Police attractiveness as an employer.  
• We develop Police education and training as well as staff competence, with attention to the Police safety environment and societal requirements. 
• We have an exemplary employer policy and develop and plan the work of superiors. 

Enabling the police strategy

The police enable their strategy by following the following principles:

• We manage our operations in line with our values, ethically, successfully, cost efficiently, in an information-based manner and impactfully. 
• We analyse and produce updated information on the operating environment to support Police operations and the internal and societal discussion. 
• We ensure the use of state-of-the-art materials and equipment as well as healthy and safe premises. 
• We guarantee operatively critical ICT services and systems as well as material services under all circumstances.  
• We actively utisile and develop new technologies in all aspects of Police operations.

Measuring the implementation of the police strategy

The implementation of the police strategy is measured by a number of indicators, including:

• Trust in Police (Police barometer, trust & reputation survey)
• Sense of security (Police barometer, sentiment)
• Number of reported crimes
• Traffic control index
• Disturbance index
• Solving rate and investigation time
• Reaction capability
• Digital service user rates
• Work satisfaction index
• Resigning staff turnover