The Finnish Government adopted a national crime prevention programme called “Working together for a safe society” in 1999. The programme is a general crime prevention programme including social as well as situational measures to prevent crime. Its focus is on developing local crime prevention co-operation. Since 1999, most Finnish municipalities have developed local crime prevention networks and crime prevention or safety programmes. Six ministries have been responsible for carrying out some half hundred measures. Implementation of the programme continues. An English translation of the whole programme.

In 2004, the Finnish government adopted a new internal security programme “A safer community”. It is based on a broad safety definition and aims to reduce crime (terrorism and organised crime as well as volume crime), accidents and other risks to society and citizens. In this programme the government has set rather precise goals for the reduction of different risks. The broad safety definition should be adopted also in local safety planning. Summary in English.

As a part of the internal security programme, the National Council for Crime Prevention has prepared a national violence reduction programme. The programme covers all essential violence problems (especially homicides, violence against women, violence against and committed by children and young persons, violence at work and alcohol related violence). It has defined targets for the reduction of the problems. The government has decided that the priority of the implementation in 2007 and 2008 is violence against children and young persons. Summary in English.

In 2008, the Finnish government adopted a second internal security programme for the years 2008-2011. The focus of this inter-agency programme was shifted, among other things, to the prevention of major maritime accidents and environmental damage, residential security, the fight against organised crime, containment of extremist movements, anti-terrorist activities, partner and intimate violence and the prevention of illegal immigration and human trafficking. No English summary of the programme is available at this time.

Property crime rates are rather low in Finland, especially if opportunities to commit crime are considered. In several property crime categories, as well as in youth crime in general, there has been a downward trend. The main crime problem in Finland is serious violence (homicide rate is two and half times the Western European average) and violent crime has not decreased as property crime has. Therefore special targeting of violence was considered important. There are some other important governmental programmes addressing specific crime problems, such as the 2006-2009 programme for tackling economic crime and grey economy, the corporate safety strategy 2006 and the action programme for prevention of intimate partner and domestic violence 2004-2007 (English brochure).

The Finnish crime trends, based of recorded crime statistics, victim surveys, studies of self reported crime and other sources, are published annually by the National Research Institute of Legal Policy (see the English summary of the latest crime situation report 2006).

The National Council for Crime Prevention was established in 1989. It is a governmental expert agency and a forum for cooperation. Members and vicemembers represent six ministries and central state administration, municipal sector, private economy, NGOs, Church and research. Since 2001, the Crime Prevention Unit of the Ministry of Justice has provided secretarial services to the Council.