Police investigate suspected coercion of child into drug offence in Espoo

Police in Espoo are investigating a case in which a 15-year-old is suspected of pressuring a younger child to obtain drugs, Yle reports. The 15-year-old is also suspected of a drug offence.

The alleged offence took place in Espoo last summer, according to Tanja Taulo, the lead investigator and a detective chief inspector with the Western Uusimaa Police Department. The child did not obtain the drugs despite the pressure. Police have not released further details because the preliminary investigation is ongoing.

The case is one of only a few investigations opened under a new criminal offence covering the use of a person below the age of criminal responsibility to commit a crime. The offence took effect in Finland in July 2025 and carries a penalty of a fine or up to two years in prison.

Police in Western Uusimaa also investigated a separate case in Espoo in which a young person was suspected of forcing another young person to buy and steal goods from a shop, and threatening them with violence. The investigation was closed because the suspect was under 15 and the case could not be referred to a prosecutor.

Taulo said police consider both Espoo cases to involve individual young people seeking to avoid responsibility for offences. Police do not currently suspect either case is linked to gang crime.

Yle found that only a few preliminary investigations have been opened nationwide under the new offence. Finland’s age of criminal responsibility is 15. Children under that age cannot be sentenced for crimes, although they can be liable for damages caused by their actions.

Other cases have also been reported. Helsingin Sanomat reported in May on a case in which a person in their twenties was suspected of using a child to commit minor fraud. Helsinki police have investigated one case under the new offence, but that investigation was also closed. In March, police said crimes were already being commissioned from minors in Finland, and a Helsinki police inspector described the use of young people in crime as a worrying trend.