Ombudsman reprimands commissioner over 14-year-old held for nearly 23 hours

Finland’s Parliamentary Ombudsman has reprimanded a Kuopio police commissioner after officers kept a 14-year-old boy in custody for nearly 23 hours, Yle reported. Ombudsman Petri Jääskeläinen said the detention exceeded the legal limit and was unlawful.

The case came to light during a surprise inspection ordered by the ombudsman at Kuopio police station in June 2024. A few days earlier, two 14-year-old brothers had been detained on suspicion of offences including assault, because police considered there was a risk they would continue offending.

The boys lived in separate out-of-home care placements in different parts of Finland. Police said the placements were notified of the arrests almost immediately, but arranging collection took time because they were more than 100 kilometres away. One boy was held for about eight and a half hours and the other for 22 hours and 49 minutes.

Finnish law allows a person under 15 to be held in police custody for no more than 12 hours. Jääskeläinen said police may detain minors only on grounds set out in law, and that they cannot be held in police cells for child-protection reasons.

The commissioner had been the general commander on duty overnight and was ultimately responsible for the unlawful procedure, the ombudsman said. Jääskeläinen urged the commissioner to ensure that the grounds for detaining minors are continually reviewed and that their detention ends promptly when the legal conditions no longer apply.