Domestic violence calls in Lapland often consume entire police shifts, elderly increasingly involved
Thursday 21st May 2026 on 19:30 in
Finland
Domestic violence alerts in Lapland can take an entire patrol shift to handle, with long distances and a growing number of elderly perpetrators, Yle reported.
Lapland police respond to about 800 domestic violence-related calls each year. The number has declined in recent years, but data from the first quarter of 2026 suggests a slight increase may occur by year’s end. Only a portion of these calls involve actual domestic violence.
Senior Constable Matti Mälkiä, based at the Posio police station in eastern Lapland, said he has not seen a major rise in domestic violence overall but noted recurring calls involving the same individuals occur in small communities.
Alcohol remains a common factor, but dementia linked to advanced age is increasingly behind the incidents, he said. “We are no longer chasing young people the way we did at the start of my career. Often the offender is completely incapacitated. It’s always difficult to arrest an elderly person, but we have had to do it,” Mälkiä said.
In remote areas, police may be hours away. Posio has its own patrol, but it may be handling a call in Salla, more than an hour’s drive away. In places like Kilpisjärvi, residents may wait hours for police. People sometimes call relatives first, who then contact the emergency centre, leading to unclear initial reports.
Police must still visit the scene even if the situation has calmed down, because domestic violence is a prosecutable offence. “We have to check whether it’s domestic violence or some other disturbance,” Mälkiä said.
When two or more serious alerts come in simultaneously, patrols must prioritise. “That happens almost every shift,” Mälkiä said. “Sometimes we handle two tasks at once, but officially we are tied to only one.”
Despite the delays, residents still trust that police will eventually arrive, Mälkiä said. “Many are surprised by how long it takes. Some still remember when every locality had its own police officer.”