Parliamentary members representing the leading opposition party, the Social Democrats (SDP), criticised the current centre-right coalition government on Tuesday on the Finnish Parliament floor for what they see as its inability to safeguard the required number of police officials in Finland.
SDP MP Mika Kari said that if the government has its way, there could be less than 6,500 people working for the police force in the future. The SDP parliamentary group demands that at least 7,200 police remain on the force, 200 more than a recent domestic security report submitted to the government recommended.
The SDP pointed their finger most at the Finns Party, who last parliamentary term staged an interpellation on the subject of police force cuts, but are this term joining their coalition partners in supporting the reduction.
Security guarantee at risk?
Christian Democrat MP Päivi Räsänen concurred with the SDP, saying that ensuring citizens’ safety is a core task of the state, and should not be compromised to address economic need.
“We can’t be satisfied with a ceiling of 7,000 police officers in the long run. We must set a target that at least meets current levels,” Räsänen said in her group’s presentation on the matter.
Green Party MPs said that current numbers shouldn’t be cut, as there must be flexibility to increase the number of police officers in the field in the future if necessary.
Last week the government presented an interior ministry report on the situation to parliament that predicts a total of 7,000 police officers in the country by the year 2020, as “law enforcement adapts to dwindling resources.” This number is down from Finland’s current police force, which contains 7,250 members.
Orpo wants to name priorities
Interior Minister Petteri Orpo, a representative of the government’s National Coalition Party said the government shares the concern about the number of police. He said their current security policy was prepared long before the report was submitted and makes plenty of provisions for future funding.
“We have already upped the number of starting positions at the Police Academy and we have every intention of continuing this,” Orpo said.
Orpo said he believes it is important to reflect on where police resources should be focused. He said Finnish society also needs to decide what kinds of crimes the police should primarily investigate.
“Some kind of prioritisation is in order,” he said.