With government coalition partners set to begin official budget negotiation—known colloquially as the "budget barn"—later this week, the topic of police funding has been the subject of much debate.
The Ministry of Finance's draft budget proposes 794 million euros for Finland's police force in 2022, down from the 806 million euros allocated this year. The Police Board argues this figure could lead to an overall deficit of 35-40 million euros next year if there are no changes to the budget proposal during government negotiations.
Police resources are already stretched under the current amount of funding, the board adds, and the proposed reduction could therefore lead to a "medium-sized disaster".
The need to find savings of 35-40 million euros corresponds to the annual expenditure of one small police station. For example, the annual cost of running the Western Uusimaa Police Department is about 39 million euros.
Most police funding is spent on staff salaries, but the renting and maintaining of premises as well as information technology spending also represent significant outgoings.
Staff costs account for lion's share of budget
The amount of money allocated to the police force has grown steadily throughout the 2010s, with the exception of a dip during the administration of Juha Sipilä (Cen) in 2017, when the figure dropped below 700 million euros.
This budget was substantially increased the following year, however, with a significant section of the money earmarked specifically for combating hate speech and extremism, a move prompted by the terrorist attack in Turku in August 2017.
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The Police Board's Director of Administration, Anne Aaltonen, told Yle that the police face a constantly-changing operating environment, where "traditional crimes" must be tackled alongside the new threats that have emerged from the online world.
"We constantly need new types of expertise and equipment. Legislative changes have contributed to the creation of more tasks. That means more staff and information systems are also needed," Aaltonen said.
Staff salaries constitute the lion's share of the police's budget, accounting for about 70 percent of expenditure, with the year's costs estimated to hit 605 million euros.
The number of police officers has dropped by about 400 over the past decade, according to the latest figures provided by the police.
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However, salary costs alone do not convey the whole picture, Aaltonen added, as the costs associated with getting one two-person police patrol on the streets is much broader.
"A vehicle, clothing, protective equipment and tactical equipment are required. When ICT costs, such as workstation and telephone costs, are added to it, one new patrol costs about 230,000 euros," Aaltonen pointed out.