‘Accidental’ procedural justice: The Finnish approach to policing
| Author | Anthony Laird,Sarah Charman |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/14613557221126488 |
| Published date | 01 March 2023 |
| Date | 01 March 2023 |
| Subject Matter | Original Research Articles |
‘Accidental’procedural justice: The Finnish
approach to policing
Anthony Laird
(School of Criminology and Criminal Justice,) University of Portsmouth, UK
Sarah Charman
(School of Criminology and Criminal Justice,) University of Portsmouth, UK
Abstract
At a time when policing agencies are coming under increased scrutiny, the Finnish police are, reportedly, achieving very
high levels of public trust. This article reports on the findings of research conducted into the Finnish approach to policing
and considers whether and to what extent Finnish policing shows tendencies towards procedural justice. A mixed meth-
ods survey and focus groups approach was used to collect primary data that provided novel insight into the nature of
policing in Finland from the perspective of police officers. The key findings of this research indicate that the Finnish police
are operating in an apparently ‘accidental’procedurally just manner. Rather than a fully planned implementation of pro-
cedural justice theory, a combination of cultural, legal and operational elements seems to have aligned to produce a form
of policing that reportedly inspires high levels of trust and/or legitimacy in the general public. However, it was found that
Finnish police officers are currently operating under high levels of fatigue and stress. Indeed, this may be compounded by
the reported dissatisfaction with certain elements of the management structure and internal communication methods.
Although many of the participants in this research appeared to have intentions very similar to those of procedural justice,
it would seem that these are coincidental rather than an institutional application of procedural justice theory.
Keywords
Procedural justice, Finland, Finnish policing, police legitimacy, policing
Submitted 11 Feb 2022, Revise received 27 May 2022, accepted 10 Aug 2022
Introduction
The seemingly perpetual and universal clamour for an
increase in police numbers is a familiar refrain in many
parts of the world. Doing so, it is sometimes claimed in
certain parts of the media and in political hustings, would
enhance public safety and confidence in policing services
and reduce crime (Hymas, 2020; Labour Party, 2017).
However, a consideration of policing in Finland may cast
doubt on this often oversimplified view of police effective-
ness. Finland had the lowest number of police officers per
capita in Europe in 2017 with 137 police officers per
100,000 people (Eurostat, 2019). Finland also scores a
low 23.32 on the crime index (Numbeo, 2020). To
provide perspective to these figures, Sweden scores 47.07
on the crime index (Numbeo, 2020) and has 198 police offi-
cers per 100,000 members of the population, and the
Republic of Ireland scores 45.43 on the same index
(Numbeo, 2020) and maintains a police force of 278 per
100,000 people (Eurostat, 2019). Although these figures
alone do not tell the whole story, it is suggested that they
Corresponding author:
Sarah Charman, School of Criminology and Criminal Justice, University of
Portsmouth, St George’s Building, 141 High Street, Portsmouth,
PO1 2HY, UK.
Email: sarah.charman@port.ac.uk
Original Research Article
International Journal of
Police Science & Management
2023, Vol. 25(1) 17–29
© The Author(s) 2022
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DOI: 10.1177/14613557221126488
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