The Police of Finland (, ) is a national

government agency A government agency or state agency, sometimes an appointed commission, is a permanent or semi-permanent organization in the machinery of government (bureaucracy) that is responsible for the oversight and administration of specific functions, s ...

responsible for general

police The police are Law enforcement organization, a constituted body of Law enforcement officer, people empowered by a State (polity), state with the aim of Law enforcement, enforcing the law and protecting the Public order policing, public order ...

and

law enforcement Law enforcement is the activity of some members of the government or other social institutions who act in an organized manner to enforce the law by investigating, deterring, rehabilitating, or punishing people who violate the rules and norms gove ...

matters in the

Republic of Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

. The Police of Finland is subordinate to the

Ministry of the Interior An interior ministry or ministry of the interior (also called ministry of home affairs or ministry of internal affairs) is a government department that is responsible for domestic policy, public security and law enforcement. In some states, the ...

and consists of the National Police Board (, ), two national police units and 11 local police departments. On October 1, 2003, the Public Order Act went into effect, standardising public ordinances throughout the country.

Local police departments

Fallesmanni_police_%26_court_bldg_Seinajoki

The police is divided into police departments, which encompass the area of multiple

municipalities A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

; municipalities do not have police forces of their own. The function of each 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 departments are organized into uniformed patrol police (, literally "order police") and criminal investigation police (, literally "criminal police"). Local police also processes licenses and permits such as gun licenses, national ID cards and

passport A passport is an official travel document issued by a government that certifies a person's identity and nationality for international travel. A passport allows its bearer to enter and temporarily reside in a foreign country, access local aid ...

s, and furthermore, enforces immigration decisions by the Finnish Immigration Service. Local police must also be notified when organizing public events that may significantly influence local public security and traffic. Driving licenses were once issued by the local police, but since 2016 are issued by Traficom (Finnish Transport and Communications Agency). Alarm services are operated by Emergency Response Centres managed by the

in cooperation with the

Ministry of Social Affairs and Health The Ministry of Social Affairs and Health (, ) is a Finnish government ministry tasked with the planning and implementation of policies regarding the social affairs and health of the inhabitants of Finland. The ministry includes two ministers: th ...

. Local police departments as of 2014: * Lapland Police Department (

Rovaniemi Rovaniemi ( , ; ; ; ) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of Lapland (Finland), Lapland. It is located near the Arctic Circle in the northern interior of the country. The population of Rovaniemi is approximately , while the Rovaniemi su ...

) *Central Finland Police Department (headquarters in

Tampere Tampere is a city in Finland and the regional capital of Pirkanmaa. It is located in the Finnish Lakeland. The population of Tampere is approximately , while the metropolitan area has a population of approximately . It is the most populous mu ...

) * Eastern Finland Police Department (

Kuopio Kuopio ( , ) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of North Savo. It is located in the Finnish Lakeland. The population of Kuopio is approximately , while the Kuopio sub-region, sub-region has a population of approximately . It is the mos ...

) * Eastern Uusimaa Police Department (

Vantaa Vantaa (; , ) is a city in Finland. It is located to the north of the capital, Helsinki, in southern Uusimaa. The population of Vantaa is approximately . It is the most populous municipality in Finland. Vantaa is part of the Helsinki Metropoli ...

) * Helsinki Police Department (

Helsinki Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...

) * Häme Police Department (

Lahti Lahti (; ) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of Päijät-Häme. It is located in the Finnish Lakeland. The population of Lahti is approximately , while the Lahti sub-region, sub-region has a population of approximately . It is the mo ...

) * Ostrobothnia Police Department (

Vaasa Vaasa (; , ), formerly (1855-1917) known as Nikolaistad (; ),Oulu Oulu ( , ; ) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of North Ostrobothnia. It is located on the northwestern coast of the country at the mouth of the Oulujoki, River Oulu. The population of Oulu is approximately , while the Oulu sub-regio ...

) * Southeastern Finland Police Department (

Kouvola Kouvola () is a city in Finland and the administrative capital of Kymenlaakso. It is located in the southeastern interior of the country. The population of Kouvola is approximately . It is the most populous municipality in Finland, and the 17th m ...

) * Southwestern Finland Police Department (

Turku Turku ( ; ; , ) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of Southwest Finland. It is located on the southwestern coast of the country at the mouth of the Aura River (Finland), River Aura. The population of Turku is approximately , while t ...

) * Western Uusimaa Police Department (

Espoo Espoo (, ; ) is a city in Finland. It is located to the west of the capital, Helsinki, in southern Uusimaa. The population is approximately . It is the most populous Municipalities of Finland, municipality in Finland. Espoo is part of the Helsi ...

) In addition,

Åland Åland ( , ; ) is an Federacy, autonomous and Demilitarized zone, demilitarised region of Finland. Receiving its autonomy by a 1920 decision of the League of Nations, it is the smallest region of Finland by both area () and population (30,54 ...

has its own police department which falls under the responsibility of the

Government of Åland The Government of Åland () is the executive authority of Åland, an autonomous region of Finland. It is led by the Premier of Åland (), who is elected by the Parliament of Åland (). Åland Premiers * Carl Björkman (politician), Carl Björ ...

(see

law enforcement in Åland Law enforcement in Åland is the responsibility of the Police Authority of the Åland Islands, a unit independent of the mainland Finnish National Police (as per the ''Act on the Autonomy of Åland, 1991''), which answers to the Åland unit of t ...

National police units

The National Bureau of Investigation (, ) is responsible for major criminal investigations and certain types of specialist services such as fingerprint recognition. The NBI 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 NBI is

white-collar crime The term "white-collar crime" refers to financially motivated, nonviolent or non-directly violent crime committed by individuals, businesses and government professionals. The crimes are believed to be committed by middle- or upper-class indivi ...

. To carry out its mission, the force has advanced technical means at its disposal, and it maintains Finland's fingerprint and identification files. The NBI is not a part of the police, instead it is a separate nationwide law enforcement agency which assists local police with investigations. .Text from PD source: US Library of Congress:
A Country Study: Finland
', Library of Congress Call Number DL1012 .A74 1990. The Police University College (, ) in

is responsible for police training, research and development. The

Finnish Security Intelligence Service The Finnish Security and Intelligence Service (, ; , ), formerly the Finnish Security Police and Finnish Security Intelligence Service, is the Security agency, security and intelligence agency of Finland in charge of national security, such as Co ...

(, ) is responsible for national security and the investigation of related crimes. The Supo was moved directly under the Ministry of the Interior in 2016. The National Traffic Police (, ) was folded into the local police in 2013, thus local police is also responsible for highway patrol. Originally, local police districts were very small and had limited resources, so a separate mobile police organization was founded for riot control, alcohol law enforcement and reserve force duties. Political reliability and independence from local strongmen was also important because of the threat from fascists; indeed, the first task was to escort former president K.J. Ståhlberg back to his home after he was kidnapped by the

Lapua Movement The Lapua Movement (, ) was a radical Finnish nationalist, fascist, pro- German and anti-communist political movement founded in and named after the town of Lapua. Led by Vihtori Kosola, it turned towards far-right politics after its founding ...

. This organization later evolved into a highway patrol. However, because of mergers, local police departments had become larger. Thus, the separate national organization was deemed redundant and traffic police units were subordinated to the local police departments instead, without change in the actual number of highway patrol officers.

Other nationally active formations

Special Intervention Unit Karhu (), also known as the "Bear Squad" (), is a specialized armed response unit. The unit is officially part of the Helsinki Police Department. 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. The police uses a VATV (Vaativan ajotavan valvonta) unit that is specialized in high-speed driving and pursuits. The unit consists of specially trained police officers who utilize several unmarked high-performance cars.

Police ranks

The Finnish police uses the following ranks: Criminal investigators prefix their ranks with ''rikos-'', "Detective", literally "Crime", e.g. ''rikostarkastaja''. Rank insignia on the shoulder epaulettes is all silver on blue with a silver button. The rank insignia for Senior Constable is a single bar, added with two chevrons for Sergeant. Police officers have bordered rows of oak leaves, with a Lion of Finland next to them. Additionally, on the collar there is pentagonal insignia that always has the emblem with laurel leaves and a border, but with colors slightly varying with rank; officers have a border around the pentagon.

Equipment

Ordinary armament

Baton Baton may refer to: Stick-like objects *Baton, a type of club *Baton (law enforcement) *Baston (weapon), a type of baton used in Arnis and Filipino Martial Arts *Baton charge, a coordinated tactic for dispersing crowds of people *Baton (conducti ...

Pepper spray Pepper spray, oleoresin capsicum spray, OC spray, capsaicin spray, mace, or capsicum spray is a Tear gas, lachrymator (tear gas) product containing as its active ingredient the chemical compound capsaicin, which irritates the eyes with burning ...

TETRA Tetra is the common name of many small freshwater characiform fishes. Tetras come from Africa, Central America, and South America, belonging to the biological families Characidae, Alestidae (the "African tetras"), Lepidarchidae, Lebiasi ...

Handcuffs Handcuffs are Physical restraint, restraint devices designed to secure an individual's wrists in proximity to each other. They comprise two parts, linked together by a Link chain, chain, a hinge, or rigid bar. Each cuff has a rotating arm whi ...

* Light and heavy armor

Weaponry

Vehicles

The most common patrol vehicle of police in Finland is Volkswagen Transporter, usually with 2.5 L diesel engines. In 2002 about one third of Finnish police cars were Transporters. Transporters are also used by

border guards A border guard of a country is a national security agency that ensures border security. Some of the national border guard agencies also perform coast guard (as in Germany, Italy or Ukraine) and rescue service duties. Name and uniform In diffe ...

, customs, and sotilaspoliisi (military police). Due to the bilingualism of the country, the right side of the vehicles is marked in Finnish (POLIISI), the left side is marked in Swedish (POLIS). The siren used for the Finnish police cars are also used for the police of Sweden. Mercedes-Benz G280 CDI LAPV 5

Current vehicles of the Finnish police

Ford Kuga The Ford Kuga is a compact crossover SUV ( C-segment) manufactured by Ford since 2008, mainly for the European market, and now in its third generation. Both front-wheel drive and four-wheel drive are offered. The Kuga was originally Europea ...

(unmarked) *

Ford Focus The Ford Focus is a compact car (C-segment in Europe) manufactured by Ford Motor Company from 1998 until 2025. It was created under Alexander Trotman's Ford 2000 plan, which aimed to globalize model development and sell one compact vehicle worl ...

( unmarked police cars) *

Audi A8 The Audi A8 is a full-size luxury vehicle, luxury sedan (car), sedan manufactured and marketed by the German automaker Audi since 1994. Succeeding the Audi V8, and now in its fourth generation, the A8 has been offered with either front-wheel dri ...

(unmarked) *

Mercedes-Benz E-class The Mercedes-Benz E-Class is a range of executive cars manufactured by German automaker Mercedes-Benz in various engine and body configurations. Produced since September 1953, the E-Class falls as a midrange in the Mercedes line-up, and has been ...

(unmarked units in

. Used mostly as escort cars) *

BMW 7 series The BMW 7 Series is a full-size luxury car, luxury sedan manufactured and marketed by the German automaker BMW since 1977. It is the successor to the BMW E3 "New Six" sedan and is now in its seventh generation. The 7 Series is BMW's flagship car ...

(used mostly as unmarked escort cars for the

President of Finland The president of the Republic of Finland (; ) is the head of state of Finland. The incumbent president is Alexander Stubb, since 1 March 2024. He was elected president for the first time in 2024 Finnish presidential election, 2024. The presi ...

) *

Citroën Berlingo The Citroën Berlingo and Peugeot Partner are a range of vans produced since 1996 and marketed under the Citroën and Peugeot marques. They are sold as light commercial vehicles or as a passenger Minivan, multi-purpose-vehicle variant with rear ...

(used as mobile speed camera units in

) *

Ford Mondeo The Ford Mondeo is a Mid-size/large family car, large (D-segment) car manufactured and marketed by Ford Motor Company, Ford since 1993 across five generations for model years 1993-2022. As Ford self-declared world car, the Mondeo was intended to ...

(2012–2018 models) *

Ford Ranger The Ford Ranger is a compact or mid-size pickup marketed globally by Ford over a series of generations, varying between both in-house or outside development and manufacturing — and with a hiatus in North America from 2011–2018. Debutin ...

(unmarked, in use in Helsinki) *

Ford Transit The Ford Transit is a family of light commercial vehicles manufactured by the Ford Motor Company since 1965, primarily as a panel van, cargo van, but also available in other configurations including a large passenger van (marketed as the Ford ...

(used as material transport by

department and one in

Kristinestad Kristinestad (; ; ; ) is a town in Finland, located on the west coast of the country. Kristinestad is situated in Ostrobothnia, along the Gulf of Bothnia. The population of Kristinestad is approximately , while the sub-region has a population o ...

, used also by Bear Squad) *

Opel Vectra The Opel Vectra is a mid-size car (large family car) that was engineered and produced by the German automaker Opel from 1988 until 2010. Available in Sedan (automobile), saloon, hatchback and Station wagon, estate (from model year 1997 onwards ...

(not in use, stored as reserve vehicles) * Opel Movano (unmarked, used by Pohjanmaa departments and Bear Squad) *

Škoda Octavia The Škoda Octavia is a small family car (C-segment) produced by the Czech Republic, Czech Automotive industry, car manufacturer Škoda Auto since the end of 1996. It shares its name with an Škoda Octavia (1959–71), earlier model produced b ...

(2013–2018 models, including Skoda octavia VRS and -scout) *

Škoda Superb The Škoda Superb is a Mid-size car, mid-size/large family car (D-segment) that has been produced by the Czech car manufacturer Škoda Auto since 2001. The first generation of the modern Superb, produced from 2001 to 2008, was based on the Volk ...

(2017– models, including Škoda superb sportline) * Ford Tourneo Connect (used as mobile speed camera cars and also used unmarked in Helsinki) *

Toyota Avensis The is a mid-size/ large family car built in Derbyshire, United Kingdom by the Japanese automaker Toyota from October 1997 to August 2018. It was the direct successor to the European Carina E and was available as a four-door saloon, five-door ...

* Toyota Corolla Verso (unmarked police cars used in the Helsinki region) *

Mitsubishi Outlander The is a mid-size crossover SUV manufactured by Japanese automaker Mitsubishi Motors since 2001. It was originally known as the when it was introduced in Japan. The original Airtrek name was chosen to "describe the vehicle's ability to tran ...

(in use as unmarked backup cars in Helsinki) *

Mitsubishi Pajero The Further information on the Mitsubishi P ...

(unmarked cars in Helsinki) *

Toyota Land Cruiser The , also sometimes spelt as LandCruiser, is a series of four-wheel drive vehicles produced by the Japanese automobile manufacturer Toyota. It is Toyota's longest running series of models. , the sales of the Land Cruiser totalled more than 1 ...

(Used by Bear Squad) *

Toyota Hilux The , stylised as HiLux and historically as Hi-Lux, is a series of pickup trucks produced and marketed by the Japanese automobile manufacturer Toyota. The majority of these vehicles are sold as a pickup truck or cab chassis, although they coul ...

(unmarked police cars in

, also used by Bear Squad) *

Toyota Prius The is a Compact car, compact/small family car, small family liftback (supermini/subcompact sedan (car), sedan until 2003) produced by Toyota. The Prius has a Hybrid vehicle drivetrain, hybrid drivetrain, combined with an internal combustion ...

(in use at the

department) *

Nissan Navara The is a nameplate used for Nissan pickup trucks with D21, D22, D40 and D23 model codes. The nameplate has been used in Australia, New Zealand, Central America, South America, Asia, Europe, and South Africa. In North, Central and South Amer ...

(unmarked police cars, mostly in use for personnel transport in Helsinki) * Nissan Primastar (unmarked, mostly used as a backup in emergency situations around Helsinki) * Nissan qashqai (unmarked) *

Volkswagen Passat The Volkswagen Passat is a nameplate of D-segment, large family cars (D-segment) manufactured and marketed by the German automobile manufacturer Volkswagen since 1973 and also marketed variously as the Dasher, Santana, Quantum, Magotan, Corsar ...

(regular-, alltrack- and r-line models) *

Volkswagen Caddy The Volkswagen Caddy is a panel van and leisure activity vehicle (M-segment) produced by the German automaker Volkswagen Group since 1979. It is sold in Europe and in other markets around the world. The Volkswagen Caddy was first introduced in N ...

(mobile speed camera units and unmarked police cars) *

Volkswagen Tiguan The Volkswagen Tiguan () is a sport utility vehicle produced by German manufacturer Volkswagen since 2007, sitting between the smaller T-Roc and the larger Touareg in the company's crossover SUV range. The first generation was based on the ...

(unmarked police vehicles. Including VW Tiguan R-Line) * Volkswagen Golf Variant (used as unmarked police cars) *

Volkswagen E-Golf The Volkswagen Golf (Mk7) is a C-segment car manufactured by German automobile manufacturer Volkswagen. It is the seventh generation in the Golf series and the successor to the Golf Mk6, and was introduced in Berlin on 4 September 2012, before ...

(in use in Helsinki) *

Volkswagen Transporter The Volkswagen Transporter, based on the Volkswagen Group's T platform, now in its seventh generation, refers to a series of vans produced for over 70 years and marketed worldwide. The T series is now considered an official list of Volkswagen G ...

(different variants, for example, K9, office and LGV monitoring units) *

Mercedes-Benz Sprinter The Mercedes-Benz Sprinter is a light commercial vehicle (van) built by Mercedes-Benz Group AG of Stuttgart, Germany as a large van, chassis cab, minibus, and pickup truck. In the past, the Sprinter had been sold under the Mercedes-Benz, Dodge, ...

(LGV monitoring and riot control capabilities) *

Mercedes-Benz G-Class The Mercedes-Benz G-Class, colloquially known as the G-Wagon or G-Wagen (as an abbreviation of Geländewagen), is a four-wheel drive luxury SUV manufactured by Magna Steyr (formerly Steyr-Daimler-Puch) in Graz, Styria, Austria, and sold by Mercede ...

(used by Bear Squad) * Mercedes-Benz G280 LAPV Enok (used by Bear Squad) * Mercedes-Benz CLS *

Volvo V70 The Volvo V70 is an executive car manufactured and marketed by Volvo Cars from 1996 to 2016 across three generations. The name ''V70'' combines the letter ''V'', standing for ''versatility'', and ''70'', denoting relative platform size (i.e., a ...

* Ford Focus ST *

Mercedes-Benz Vito The Mercedes-Benz Vito is a mid-sized light commercial vehicle (LCV) produced by Mercedes-Benz, available as a panel van, chassis cab, or multi-purpose vehicle (MPV), carrying cargo or up to eight passengers. In the Mercedes-Benz van lineup, it ...

(2019–) * Hyundai Ioniq electric (unmarked) *

Volkswagen Touran The Volkswagen Touran is a car manufactured by German automaker Volkswagen since 2003 and sold in Europe and other select markets. A compact multi-purpose vehicle (MPV), it fills a gap in Volkswagen's model lineup between the Volkswagen Golf, ...

(unmarked) *

BMW 5 series The BMW 5 Series is an executive car manufactured and marketed by BMW since 1972. It is the successor to the BMW New Class sedans and is currently in its eighth generation. The car is sold as either a sedan or, since 1991, a station wagon (marke ...

* Volvo S90 *

Toyota RAV4 The is a compact crossover SUV produced by the Japanese automobile manufacturer Toyota. It is known for starting the wave of compact crossovers. The RAV4 is one of the best-selling SUVs of all time. By February 2020, a total of 10 million RAV4 ...

Marked police motorcycles are usually either BMW K1200 RS, Yamaha FJR 1300, Yamaha FZ1, Yamaha XT660, Kawasaki Ninja H2, Honda VFR1200 or KTM 1190 Adventure models. Unmarked motorcycles are Yamaha YZF1000R Thunderace- and Yamaha YZF-R1 models. Motorcycles are used in pursuit situations. The quad bikes are also used in service, mostly used are

Polaris Polaris is a star in the northern circumpolar constellation of Ursa Minor. It is designated α Ursae Minoris (Latinisation of names, Latinized to ''Alpha Ursae Minoris'') and is commonly called the North Star or Pole Star. With an ...

Sportsman and

Can-Am The Canadian-American Challenge Cup, or Can-Am, was an SCCA/ CASC sports car racing series from 1966 to 1974, and again from 1977 to 1987. The Can-Am rules were deliberately simple and placed few limits on the entries. This led to a wide variet ...

. Additionally, Finnish police operates

snowmobile A snowmobile, also known as a snowmachine (chiefly Alaskan), motor sled (chiefly Canadian), motor sledge, skimobile, snow scooter, or simply a sled is a motorized vehicle designed for winter travel and recreation on snow. Their engines normally ...

s, water scooters and boats. Helsinki department also has a

mounted police Mounted police are police who patrol on horseback or camelback. Their day-to-day function is typically picturesque or ceremonial, but they are also employed in crowd control because of their mobile mass and height advantage and increasingly in th ...

unit.

References

External links

* (English)
(Police) Study based on a citizen survey in Finland
{{Europe topic, Law enforcement in Law enforcement agencies of Finland

Local police departments

National police units

Other nationally active formations

Police ranks

Equipment

Ordinary armament

Weaponry

Vehicles

Current vehicles of the Finnish police

See also

References

External links