Police to increase presence in schools in 2025

The police will increase their presence in schools in 2025, said police in a press release on Friday.

The goal is to reach out to every schoolchild in the country this year - if not face-to-face, at least remotely.

Police online lessons will reach schoolchildren from Utsjoki to Hanko and from Korsnäs to Ilomantsi.

Responsibility for the lessons has been assigned to Southwestern Finland Police.

A national School25 team was set up within the police department to provide national online lessons to all comprehensive and upper secondary schools in Finland.

The team members come from various parts of Finland and are familiar faces on police social media channels.

The School25 team is motivated and enthusiastic, and started work at the beginning of the year. Ideas are rapidly bursting into production.

“The first online lesson will take place in the spring and schools will shortly be informed about its timing and content,” said team leader, Chief Inspector of Southwestern Finland Police Department Arttu Visuri.

“We can't help but be enthusiastic about this, because it’s all about Finland's children and young people, all schools and the wellbeing of young people,” said Senior Constable Daniel Kalejaiye.

The police aim to use lessons and other content aimed at young people to improve students’ education on legality and police interaction with children and young people.

“Besides online lessons, we will also increase police presence and crime prevention content on the social media channels popular with children and young people,” said Senior Constable Minttu Hernesniemi.

“We already have years of tradition behind us in implementing virtual lessons. We held the first lessons for schools in the region in spring 2021, after which they have become a permanent fixture as part of cooperation with the school community,” said Deputy Police Chief of Southwestern Finland Police Department Maria Hoikkala.

In four years, police lessons held in Finnish and Swedish in Satakunta and Southwestern Finland have attracted tens of thousands of children and young people to live streams and recordings of them. Lessons have also been held for guardians and school staff.

Nationwide virtual lessons are part of a wider school policing model being rolled out by the police in 2025, and €2 million of an extra €11 million granted to the police in the autumn government budget session will be used for school policing.

“Online lessons will not replace the face-to-face school visits by the police, quite the opposite. This year the police will step up their presence in and cooperation with schools by among other things increasing contact and consultation services, especially in problem-solving situations and by actively visiting schools,” Hoikkala said.