Policing the Land of the Midnight Sun
| Published date | 01 January 2001 |
| Date | 01 January 2001 |
| Author | Mary Dresser,Jim Weiss |
| DOI | 10.1177/0032258X0107400306 |
| Subject Matter | Article |
JIM
WEISS AND MARY DRESSER
POLICING THE LAND OF THE
MIDNIGHT SUN
Underpaid and perhaps under-appreciated Senior Constable Markku
Laine wrote saying that in November 2000
more than 1,000 police officers (poliisi) marched in Helsinki
because of our low salaries and gave the Minister of the Interior
a petition that 5,000 police officers had signed because of low
salaries - there are 8,000 police officers in Finland. It is especially
hard for new police officers since their pay is especially poor at the
beginning of their careers before the extras are added on and not up
to what civilian companies offer. The demonstration received media
attention. As a result there is talk of a restructuring of the police
salary system.
Perhaps paychecks aren't evolving on a scale acceptable to the majority
of Finland's police but in the last ten years there have been some other
marked changes.
Nine years ago Laine described one typical day's work on police
patrol in these words:
I left home early to pump iron and to take a sauna before reporting
for work at the Nousiainen police station. Being a Friday night in
June, we expected to be busy because drinking alcoholic beverages
is popular and this leads to problems. Since it's summer and people
are out and moving about, intoxicated people and the difficulties
that they cause are more noticeable.
Our first call was a report of a traffic accident. A car ran into an
elk. The car was heavily damaged but the driver was not injured.
The elk had a broken leg, and we had to shoot it. The police would
oversee arrangements for butchering and such meat would be
auctioned off at the police station on Monday.
We [Markku and his partner Lauri Linberg] had barely com-
pleted that call when we were sent to investigate a complaint of a
drunk who had thrown his family out of the house. He was now
attempting to break into a neighbor's home where the family had
taken refuge. When being arrested the man fought us and continued
trying to kick at us in the patrol car. Restraints were applied. We
transported this man to the big city of Turku [fourth largest city in
Finland] and the police station there. Normally intoxicated persons
are held for eight to twelve hours. In some districts more than
others supervisors note which officers accumulate the most resist-
ance and mark it negatively against those officers.
220 The Police Journal, Volume 74 (2001)
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