Finnish support group calculates crime-free year saves society €66,000 per ex-inmate

A crime-free year for a former prisoner saves Finnish society around €66,000, according to a new calculation by Kris, a peer support organisation for people with substance abuse and criminal backgrounds. The figure is based on a tool developed with Swedish and Finnish partners, reports Yle Keski-Suomi.

The organisation analysed how much the state saves when released prisoners receive support and stop reoffending. According to the Criminal Sanctions Agency (Rise), no such study has been conducted in Finland for years, making the new data a welcome addition.

Antti Lievonen, 40, from Jyväskylä, has a long history of drug and violent crimes but has remained offence-free for nearly two years. “I chose that lifestyle because I wanted respect. In criminal circles, you earn it by being as tough as possible,” he said. Lievonen credits Kris with helping him change his mindset, including shifting his negative views of authorities. “Now I want to teach my child that the police are there to help and protect,” he said.

Kris developed the cost-calculation tool with the Sosped Foundation and Sweden’s Stiftelsen Kriminalitet som Livsstil (SKL). It draws on public registers from police, welfare agencies, and social services to estimate savings from reduced crime. For example, fewer incarcerations mean lower costs for imprisonment, foster care, healthcare from assault injuries, and legal proceedings.

In 2024, 468 people participated in Kris’s programs nationwide, with 108 remaining crime- and substance-free for over a year. After deducting operational costs, the estimated savings exceeded €6 million. “These individuals stay out of prison, their children are less likely to be taken into care, and victims avoid hospitalisation and sick leave,” said Marko Rajamäki, Kris’s executive director.

The Criminal Sanctions Agency, a long-term partner of Kris, considers the calculations plausible. Finland’s prison population is rising—3,810 inmates as of this week—while staff shortages strain rehabilitation efforts. The government’s recent cuts to NGO funding have also hit Kris, whose six member associations rely primarily on grants from the Social and Health Organisation Subsidy Centre (STEA).

For Lievonen, Kris’s peer support has become a vital routine. “There, I can be myself, and people understand me,” he said. The tool does not yet account for additional savings from employment, such as tax revenue and reduced welfare payments.