Finland centralizes police misconduct investigations under new reforms

As of early October, Finland’s police crime investigation procedures have undergone significant reforms. Police misconduct cases are now centralized within the Office of the National Prosecutor and the National Bureau of Investigation. Previously, such cases were handled at local police stations and regional prosecutor offices across the country.

The preliminary investigations will continue to be led by prosecutors, but now the prosecutorial functions are consolidated within a specialized police crime unit at the Office of the National Prosecutor. Prosecutors specialized in police misconduct will serve as investigation leaders. These same prosecutors will also handle the decision to file charges and represent the prosecution in court.

A newly established police crime investigation team at the National Bureau of Investigation will oversee the investigation of allegations, working under the direction of the prosecutorial investigator. In instances where a case cannot be processed by the National Bureau of Investigation due to potential conflicts of interest, investigators will be assigned from a different police unit.

Sanna Springare, head of the police crime investigation team, expressed that one of the main objectives of this centralization is to ensure consistent and thorough handling of police misconduct cases nationwide. She noted that cooperation with the Office of the National Prosecutor has commenced positively.

The aim of these reforms is to professionalize and accelerate the handling of police misconduct cases while ensuring a uniform approach to resolution. Previously, investigations were typically carried out by individual officers assigned to specific cases on a non-full-time basis, which will now change as the specialized prosecutors and investigation team will focus solely on police misconduct issues.

Tapio Mäkinen, head of the police crime unit, emphasized that the Finnish police enjoys a high level of trust and respect among citizens, highlighting the unit’s critical role in maintaining this trust while considering the legal rights of all parties involved.