Number of sexual offences grows by 22% in Q1

A total of 111,300 offences against the Criminal Code were recorded by the police, customs and border guard in January to March 2024, according to Statistics Finland.

The number is 2.3 per cent more than in the corresponding period of the year before.

The number of sexual offences grew by 22% in the January-March period than the stipulated period in the previous.

A total of 436 rapes as defined in the new legislation on sexual offences were recorded while 583 robberies were reported.

The number of recorded offences against life was 25, which is 15 more than in January to March 2023.

Altogether 255 cases of sexual harassment referred to in the new legislation were reported, which is 15 more than in the year before. In all, 82 of the acts were committed on the Internet.

A total of 23 reports of non-consensual dissemination of sexual images were reported. Of the acts 21 were committed on the Internet.