Small ministry, large branch of government
The National Police Board and the Finnish Immigration Service operate under the Ministry of the Interior. The agencies provide guidance within their scope of activities. The Finnish Border Guard is responsible for protecting Finnish borders and the Emergency Response Centre Administration is responsible for emergency response centre operations in mainland Finland.
The Emergency Services College and the Crisis Management Centre Finland (CMC Finland) also operate under the Ministry of the Interior. The Finnish Security and Intelligence Service is an agency operating under the Ministry of the Interior.
The police maintain public order and security and combat crime
The National Police Board directs and guides operational police activities. The National Police Board is responsible for ensuring equal access to police services and equal quality of services throughout the country.
The local police departments and the national police units – the National Bureau of Investigation and the Police University College – operate under the National Police Board. The Board is responsible for the performance management of these units. In addition, the Finnish Security and Intelligence Service is directly subordinate to the Ministry of the Interior.
The local police force consists of 11 police departments. The Police University College in Tampere is responsible for training Finnish police officers.
Mission of the Finnish Security and Intelligence Service is to protect national security
The Finnish Security and Intelligence Service (Supo) is an agency operating under the Ministry of the Interior. Its work includes countering threats to Finland’s national security and gathering, analysing and reporting intelligence to support decision-making.
The core tasks of the Finnish Security and Intelligence Service are to combat terrorism and illegal intelligence gathering (counterintelligence) and to monitor the threat posed by domestic extremism. In addition, the Finnish Security and Intelligence Service conducts security clearances on individuals who are seeking positions of importance for national security or for some very important private interest.
Finnish Security and Intelligence Service
The Finnish Border Guard is responsible for border management
The main tasks of the Border Guard are the surveillance of the country’s land and maritime borders, the conducting of border checks on persons at land border crossings, ports and airports, and the carrying out of rescue operations particularly at sea. The aim is to keep Finland’s borders safe and secure. The Border Guard also leads and organises maritime search and rescue operations.
The Border Guard has four Border Guard Districts and two Coast Guard Districts, and also includes the Air Patrol Squadron and the Border and Coast Guard Academy. The Border Guard Headquarters is also the Border Guard Department of the Ministry of the Interior.
The Border and Coast Guard Academy is an institution providing education and training in border security and maritime search and rescue operations and it also conducts research in these fields.
Emergency response centres receive and relay emergency calls
The Emergency Response Centre Administration provides emergency response centre services throughout Finland, except for the Åland Islands. Emergency response centres receive emergency calls and relay them to emergency responders. They also provide advice to callers. These centres are the first step in the emergency response chain for help and safety.
There are six emergency response centres in Finland with a common headquarters in Pori.
Emergency Response Centre Administration
The Finnish Immigration Service processes permit applications submitted by foreign nationals
The Finnish Immigration Service implements Finnish migration policy and provides information services to support political decision-making and for national and international cooperation.
The Finnish Immigration Service handles and decides matters concerning immigration into the country and residency, refugee status and Finnish citizenship. The Finnish Immigration Service is responsible for guiding, planning and supervision of the daily work of reception centres.
Finnish Immigration Service (Migri)
The Emergency Services Academy Finland provides training for rescue service and emergency response centre personnel
The Emergency Services Academy Finland in Kuopio is responsible for providing vocational and supplementary training for rescue service and emergency response centre personnel, training in preparing for incidents and emergencies, and training in international civil protection and civilian crisis management. It also provides preparedness training for various authorities, and carries out research and development activities.
Emergency Services Academy Finland
The Crisis Management Centre trains civilian crisis management experts and deploys them to operations across the world
The Crisis Management Centre (CMC Finland) is a centre of expertise for civilian crisis management. The Centre operates in connection with the Ministry of the Interior. It is responsible for the training, recruiting and employment relationship matters of civilian crisis management experts. The Centre is also responsible for situation awareness of the operations and research concerning civilian crisis management.
Crisis Management Centre Finland (CMC Finland)