Strengthening crime prevention

The Ministry of the Interior is carrying out several legislative projects which, in line with the Government Programme, aim to strengthen crime prevention. The key means include drafting regulation on threat-informed criminal intelligence, enhancing the exchange of information between the authorities, and improving the prerequisites for using biometric data, such as fingerprint and image data, in crime prevention. 

Improving the criminal intelligence capacity of the police

The Ministry of the Interior has set up a legislative project to draw up provisions on the gathering of criminal intelligence by the police. The provisions aim to enable more effective intervention, for example to combat serious gang crime and organised crime.

In information gathering, the police has increasingly shifted to the gathering, analysis and utilisation of threat-informed information. In order to prevent threats caused by serious crime, the police should have the ability to begin information gathering at an earlier stage than at present.

The Ministry of the Interior is participating in the review of section 10 of the Constitution on the protection of private life, which is carried out under the leadership of the Ministry of Justice. In line with the Government Programme, the Government is assessing the need to specify the Constitution to enable effective gathering of criminal intelligence.

Removing obstacles to the exchange of information in combating crime

According to the Government Programme, the Government will remove obstacles to the exchange of information in the combating of crime, and increase the possibilities for the police to disclose non-disclosable information to various public authorities to prevent crime and to guarantee security.

The project on the exchange of information will prepare the necessary amendments to the Police Act and the Act on the Processing of Personal Data by the Police. The amendments will improve the prerequisites for the public authorities to take action. The project will also make other proposals that have been considered absolutely necessary and should be drafted into legislative amendments. Ensuring a well-functioning and effective exchange of information is important for the activities of the police and other national authorities.

Improving the use of biometric data in combating crime

In February 2025, the Ministry of the Interior sent out for comments a proposal for amending the regulation on biometric data stored in the registers of the police and the Finnish Immigration Service. It is an objective of the Government Programme to improve the conditions for using biometrics in law enforcement and crime prevention. The Ministry proposes that biometric data could be used especially to prevent the most serious crimes. 

Biometric data means personal data that result from technical processing, such as facial images and fingerprints, and allow the unique identification of a person. The proposed amendments would apply to the biometric data stored in the passport register and the identity card register of the police, and to the biometric data of foreign nationals stored in the registers of the police and the Finnish Immigration Service.

The proposed amendments would improve the possibilities of criminal investigation authorities to identify both suspected offenders and victims of crime. Fingerprint data and automated facial recognition are more reliable ways of identifying a person than other methods. 

The proposed amendments would not give the police a right to collect new data. Instead, the amendments would change the purpose for which the police and the Finnish Immigration Service could use the data they already have. For example, the police could compare biometric data in its registers to data collected as part of investigations into serious crime, such as homicides and serious violent and sexual offences.

Project status and next steps

The project on criminal intelligence was established on 25 September 2023. The Government is planning to submit its proposals to Parliament in the autumn session 2025 and spring session 2026.

The project on the exchange of information by the police was also launched on 25 September 2023. The government proposal is due to be submitted in the autumn session 2025.

The proposal to amend the regulation on biometric data is circulated for comments between 30 January 2025 and 17 March 2025. The government proposal is due to be submitted in August 2025.