Prime Minister Petteri Orpo (NCP) spoke to reporters at his official residence, Kesäranta, on Sunday afternoon, about a range of topics including gang violence.
He said his three-month-old government plans a variety of measures to ensure that gang-related crime in Finland does not explode as it has in neighbouring Sweden.
Orpo was first asked about Sweden's acute gang crime problem. He said that if necessary, Finland is ready to provide assistance to Sweden to help resolve the situation.
On Thursday, Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson summoned the head of the armed forces and the police commissioner in a bid to stem gang violence, following a wave of violence that left at least 11 dead in September.
Orpo said that he is also concerned about the development of the gang situation in Finland.
“We have the same phenomenon as in Sweden, although the situation [here] is not as bad,” said Orpo.
According to the premier, the government programme includes numerous measures to tackle the matter. Orpo said that both “soft and hard” methods are planned in order to combat gangs.
One of the tougher ways is tightening penalties so that those guilty of gang-related crimes are held more strictly accountable, he said.
"We have to learn to live with this changed situation"
According to Orpo, street violence is partly due to the unsuccessful integration of immigrants into Finland.
“This is a very wide-ranging problem,” he said.
He was asked what the integration of immigrants requires from Finns.
“It requires helping them. We need experts here. This is Finland’s reality. We have to learn to live with this changed situation, but we also have the right to ensure that Finland is a safe country and that we stick to our values and rules,” he said.
The discussion with journalists from Yle and the newspapers Hufvudstadsbladet, Iltalehti and Helsingin Sanomat was broadcast on Yle Radio Suomi.