Finnish people´s trust in police remains high: Survey

About 88 per cent of Finnish people considered that the police were fully or mostly able to fulfil their responsibility for ensuring public order and security in the country, according to the most recent Police Barometer survey.

The results of the survey published recently, however, showed that about 18% respondents considered that the police had made obvious mistakes in their own work, said an official press release.

According to the results about 95 per cent of the Finns trust the police either a lot or a fair amount. The respondents to the survey considered that the most important police duties included emergency response, prevention and investigation of violent crime, intervention in domestic violence and counter-terrorism.

The police have made mistakes regarding traffic violations, for example. The respondents had also detected that the police themselves had made traffic violations, behaved inappropriately, used too much force in certain situations and made decisions that were unfair towards the underprivileged and people with an immigrant background.

In addition, the respondents often mentioned that the police do not sometimes listen, show up in cases concerning public disturbances, investigate cases or offences or that they sometimes decide, without a valid reason, not to complete an investigation.

"The police have prioritised their duties well and succeeded in performing the duties that are most important to people living in Finland," said Minister of the Interior Kai Mykkänen.

The aim of the Police Barometer survey is to gauge public opinion on the Finnish Police and the internal security situation in the country. The survey has been conducted ten times between 1999 and 2018. A total of 1,096 people were interviewed for the latest survey between November 2017 and January 2018. They were residents in mainland Finland and aged between 15 and 79.