Law enforcement in Finland
Law enforcement in Finland falls under the jurisdiction of the Finnish Police, a national police agency.[1] Moreover, the Finnish Police includes three national agencies. The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) (Finnish: Keskusrikospoliisi, KRP) is a national unit tasked with "crime prevention and provision of expert services."[2] The Finnish Security Police "specializes in the prevention of security threats of the State."[3] The third the National Traffic Police.
Limited law enforcement authority is also given for specific reasons. In border zones and when dealing with arriving persons and goods, Finnish Border Guard and Finnish Customs have police authority, respectively. Municipal parking inspectors, train conductors and ticket inspectors have limited police powers. The military has very limited police powers, mainly for internal investigation of military crimes and guarding military facilities. The Ministry of the Interior and a provincial offices may give police powers for a specific task and to the degree necessary.
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[edit] National police agencies
National Bureau of Investigation, which is responsible for major criminal investigations and certain types of specialist services such as fingerprint recognition (Finnish: Keskusrikospoliisi, KRP, Swedish: Centralkriminalpolisen, CKP). KRP was formed in 1954 to assist the country's other police elements in efforts against crime, particularly that of a serious or deeply rooted nature. A special concern of the KRP is white collar crime. To carry out its mission, the force has advanced technical means at its disposal, and it maintains Finland's fingerprint and identification files. In addition to working with local police forces, the KRP operates independently throughout the country.[4]
Security Police, responsible for national security and the investigation of related crimes. (Finnish: Suojelupoliisi, SUPO, Swedish: Skyddspolisen (Skypo), literally: Protection Police)
National Traffic Police, a highway patrol organization responsible for traffic safety, doubling as a national police reserve which can also be called as reinforcements for general law enforcement tasks (Finnish: Liikkuva poliisi, Swedish: Rörliga polisen, literally: Mobile police). Liikkuva poliisi, LP, was formed in 1930 to operate throughout the country to prevent smuggling, to control highway traffic, and, above all, to be ready at a moment's notice to assist local police forces in quelling civil disturbances. With a complement of 724, as of 1988, the LP had a department in each province and command units in larger communities. Its main functions, in addition to its responsibility for traffic regulation and vehicle inspection, are to prevent the illegal importation and the manufacture of alcohol and drugs, to enforce hunting and fishing regulations, and to assist other police units in investigations and in apprehension of fugitives.[4]
[edit] Other nationally active formations
Karhu Team, equivalent to SWAT teams in the United States. Though it is situated in Helsinki City Police Department, Karhu team is a national police special unit that is used all around Finland.
In June 2008, the Finnish police established a Police Incident Response Team tasked with improving the prevention, detection and management of serious information security incidents.[5]
[edit] Local police departments
The function of each district police department is to maintain general law and order, prevent crime, investigate crime and other events that threaten public order and safety, to carry out traffic control and surveillance and promote traffic safety, and perform all other duties prescribed by law or otherwise assigned to the police in their area. Local police also processes licenses and permits such as driving licenses, gun licenses, national ID cards and passports, and furthermore, enforces immigration decisions by the Finnish Immigration Service. Local police is must also be notified when organizing public events that may significantly influence local public security and traffic.
There are 24 police departments in Finland, with 280 service points.[6] Alarm services are operated by fifteen regional Emergency Response Centres managed by the Ministry of the Interior in cooperation with the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health.[7]
[edit] Other agencies
Customs and Border Guard also perform some law enforcement functions, mainly concerned with goods (Customs) and persons (Border Guard) crossing Finland's borders. Within their fields of work, the Customs and Border Guard officers have most police powers. In the Customs, the power to arrest is delegated to the level of senior customs inspectors. In the Border Guard, the power to arrest is delegated to the level of border control detachments commander.[8] The Customs may utilize all investigative police powers, with the exception of the use of deep-cover personnel and sting operations.[9] The Border Guard may use all other investigative powers but deep-cover, sting operations, wiretapping and other forcible measures affecting telecommunications.[10]
The Finnish Defence Forces have provost duties and jurisdiction over guarding military installations. The Defence Forces also have the right to investigate all military crimes and most crimes committed by service-men against non-civilians. In addition, the Defence Forces have the right to conduct counter-espionage and counter-sabotage activities related to the national defence. However, Suojelupoliisi conducts actual criminal investigations of state-security-related crimes also within the Defence Forces. Military unit commanders have the jurisdiction over the investigations of minor infractions. The power to arrest is delegated to company commander level. More serious crimes are investigated, by the investigative section of the Finnish Defence Command or by the military attorneys of lower command levels. Security-related military police activities and all technical surveillance activities are carried out by the investigative section of the Defence Command. The Defence Forces do not have the right to conduct wiretaps or other forcible measures against Finnish civilian telecommunications.[11][12]
[edit] Public Order Act
On October 1, 2003, the Public Order Act went into effect, standardizing public ordinances throughout the country.[13]
[edit] Equipment
- Glock 17
- Heckler & Koch MP5
- Heckler & Koch G36C
- Taser X26
- Baton
- Pepper spray
- Handcuffs
- Light and heavy armor
[edit] See also
[edit] Notes
- ^ Finnish Police official in English. Retrieved 5 Sep 2007
- ^ KRP official in English Retrieved 14 May 2007
- ^ Supo official in English Retrieved 5 Sep 2007
- ^ a b c Text from PD source: US Library of Congress: A Country Study: Finland, Library of Congress Call Number DL1012 .A74 1990.
- ^ "Finnish police sets up IRT". blog.anta.net. 2008-06-23. ISSN 1797-1993. http://blog.anta.net/2008/06/23/finnish-police-sets-up-irt/. Retrieved 2008-06-23.
- ^ http://www.poliisi.fi/poliisi/home.nsf/MainDocuments/945ae6ceab80700ac2256cd40027cbf0?OpenDocument
- ^ http://www.hatakeskus.fi/index.php?pageName=administration
- ^ Pakkokeinolaki (450/1987), 6§. Retrieved 2010-02-15. (Finnish)
- ^ Tullilaki (466/1999). 43§ Retrieved 2010-02-15. (Finnish)
- ^ Rajavartiolaki (578/2005). 41§. Retrieved 2010-02-15. (Finnish)
- ^ Laki poliisin tehtävien suorittamisesta puolustusvoimissa (1251/1995). Retrieved 2010-02-15. (Finnish)
- ^ Sotilaskurinpitolaki (331/1983), Chapter 4. Retrieved 2010-02-15. (Finnish)
- ^ Public Order Act Retrieved 19 May 2007
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