Matti Vuorensyrjä, Aino Salmi: Public Trust in Police Remains High

Public trust in the police has remained stable for a long time. Of those who responded to the latest Police Barometer survey, 92 per cent trust the police a lot or a fair amount. Respectful treatment of people by the police and fair police activities affect people’s trust.

Around 85 per cent of the respondents considered that the police treat people with respect often or very often, while around 76 per cent considered that the police make fair and impartial decisions often or very often.

Trust in police activities is rather uniform across Finland. Trust is highest in Southwest Finland (around 95%) and Western Uusimaa (94%) and lowest in Eastern Finland (89%). There are no major differences in trust between different age groups or genders. However, trust seems to grow somewhat with age. Around 94 per cent of pensioners trust the police. Low-income and unemployed people trust the police less than others. 

“Finnish people’s trust in the police is high. This barometer shows, once again, that we have skilled and well-trained police officers in Finland. One of the strengths of Finnish society is our trust in the police. They earn this trust every day through their field work and efforts to combat crime. This is something that we absolutely want to foster,” says Minister of the Interior Mari Rantanen.

In addition to the police, Finns also trust other security authorities, such as the fire and rescue authorities. Trust in the activities of the emergency response centres and the Finnish Defence Forces is also high. 

Concern about offences committed by young people is reflected in responses

The Police Barometer also measures the respondents’ concern over different criminal phenomena. In the 2024 barometer, questions regarding offences committed by young people, organised crime, gang crime and fraud offences were added to the survey. Other criminal phenomena examined in the survey include assaults, sexual harassment, terrorism and hate crimes.

Around 84 per cent of the respondents were concerned about offences committed by young people, 73 per cent about offences committed with a firearm, 76 per cent about drug abuse and drug dealing in public places, and 73 per cent about organised crime and gang crime. The least concern was expressed over house burglaries (46%).

“We strive to address people’s concerns. We have managed to halt the strong growth in the number of offences committed by young people, and the number of robbery offences has decreased significantly as well.  We have also intervened in the increased drug dealing in public places and continued to refer drug users to treatment. Several international joint operations have been carried out to combat the import and distribution of drugs. The aim is to ensure that Finland continues to be one of the safest countries in the world,” says National Police Commissioner Ilkka Koskimäki.

It is necessary to revise the contents of the Police Barometer survey from time to time to ensure that the questions correspond to the changes that have taken place in the operating environment of the police. Both crime and police activities have changed. Organised crime and gang crime have increased in the Nordic countries, the threat of terrorism has grown in Europe, and cybercrime and international economic crime have taken new forms all over the world.

People still consider their own neighbourhood relatively safe

The Police Barometer also examines how serious the respondents feel the crime situation is in their neighbourhood. Approximately 72 per cent of the respondents did not consider the crime situation in their neighbourhood too serious. Around one in four respondents considered the situation fairly serious. The situation in Eastern Uusimaa differs from the other areas. As many as 34 per cent of the respondents living in the area considered the crime situation in their neighbourhood fairly or very serious. In Ostrobothnia, in contrast, only 16 per cent of the respondents considered that crime is a fairly or very serious problem in their neighbourhood.

Respondents were of the opinion that the police should be more visible in the daily lives of people than at present. According to respondents, greater police visibility would increase both the sense of security and actual security. In addition to police visibility, traffic surveillance and the investigation of violent and narcotics offences were now considered more important than before.

Looking at the big picture, the development took a negative turn in the mid-2010s. The reasons behind this are not fully known, but the decline in the number of police officers in the mid-2010s and the many changes that have occurred in crime may have affected the situation. 

Property offences most often reported to police

Offences can be roughly divided into three main categories: property offences, violent offences and sexual offences. Around 77 per cent of property offences, such as house burglaries or attempted burglaries, are reported to the police. A report of an offence is filed in 32 per cent of violent offences, such as armed threats or robberies or attempts at these offences. Only 6–9 per cent of sexual offences are reported to the police. 

The most common reason for not reporting an offence to the police is that the offence is not considered serious enough. This particularly applies to property offences. Reluctance to report an offence may also be influenced by the fact that the matter is considered private or the victim fears retaliation. These reasons are often related to violent and sexual offences.

Approximately 61 per cent of the respondents estimated that the police are relatively successful in preventing violent crime or threat of violence in Finland. Around half of the respondents were of the opinion that the police are relatively successful in catching burglars.

Background

The Police Barometer survey is carried out in cooperation between the Ministry of the Interior, the Police University College and Statistics Finland. 

The aim of the Police Barometer is to study public opinion on police activities and the internal security situation in Finland. The survey data was collected during autumn 2024. A sample of 8,500 persons was selected in Statistics Finland’s database on the population of Finland. The population of the survey consisted of persons aged between 15 and 79 residing in mainland Finland. A total of 4,164 persons responded to the survey, making the response rate around 49.0 per cent.

Photo: Mika Pakarinen