Frequently asked questions about criminal intelligence legislation

One of the key objectives of the Programme of Prime Minister Petteri Orpo’s Government is to step up the combating of crime to improve people’s safety and security and trust in the authorities. Legislation evolves to respond to changes in the security environment, such as the development of organised crime and the various forms of associated serious crime.

Criminal intelligence methods are essential, particularly in combating serious crime. This includes, for example, serious drug-related crime and its associated phenomena, various hybrid threats to internal security that manifest themselves as criminal activity, and threats that pose a serious risk to the life or health of large numbers of people.

As the operating environment changes, the threats posed by crime have become more serious, more diverse and more rapidly developing, and should therefore be proactively prevented. This requires intelligence collection to be started at an earlier stage than is currently the case. 

New criminal intelligence provisions for the police would enable more effective intervention in, among other things, serious gang crime and organised crime. Better and more comprehensive intelligence will result in better decisions and greater effectiveness.

The aim of criminal intelligence is to prevent threats posed by crime that seriously threaten the safety and security of an individual or society from materialising into serious crime.

More information about the Ministry of the Interior’s legislative proposal | in Finnish

Criminal intelligence is the collection of information on crime and criminal offences and the analysis of the collected information for the purpose of combating crime. Intelligence generates information that enables the authorities to influence and prepare for threats, risks, opportunities and changes.

Police criminal intelligence is linked to preventing crime, forming an analysed situational picture of crime and collecting early-stage information to obtain a complete overview.  

Threat-informed criminal intelligence is criminal intelligence in which intelligence collection and analysis is directed at detecting and combating threats posed by crime, not just individual crimes.

The main target of threat-informed criminal intelligence would be organised crime. Serious crime includes drug crime, violent crime, money laundering crime, human trafficking crime and crimes against children.

Threat-informed criminal intelligence would be carried out using the secret intelligence collection methods already in use to prevent crime. The new regulations would enable secret intelligence collection at an earlier stage than at present, i.e. before a criminal project has progressed to a concrete and identified offence. 

Criminal intelligence methods would include surveillance, covert intelligence collection, technical observation and technical tracking. The methods are already in the Police Act, but now they could be used under different conditions.

Under the new provisions, the police could also collect data identifying a network address or terminal equipment, conduct undercover activities and make pseudo purchases. Controlled delivery and controlled use of covert human intelligence sources would also be part of the police toolkit.
 

Criminal intelligence targets organised crime that seriously threatens the safety and security of an individual or society, as well as threats of serious crime that are widely directed at critical infrastructure, the life or health of large numbers of people, the environment, the fundamental functions of the rule of law, or public order and security.

Criminal intelligence may be targeted at a person who, based on the person’s statements, threats, behaviour or circumstances, may be presumed to be participating in activities that seriously threaten the safety and security of an individual or society. 

In practice, criminal intelligence would be targeted at persons operating and moving in criminal circles, belonging to criminal organisations or participating in ongoing criminal projects.

If a specific person cannot be identified, certain criminal intelligence methods may be targeted at a group of people. 

As a last resort, criminal intelligence could also be directed at another person if it is not possible to target the person or group of people involved in the threatening activity and it can be reasonably presumed that the use of the criminal intelligence method will provide important information about activity that poses a serious threat to the safety and security of an individual or society.

Intelligence collection would not be targeted, however, at people who inadvertently become aware of criminal projects, for example.

The proposed threat-informed provisions would not include criminal intelligence methods targeted at confidential communications, such as traffic data monitoring or telecommunications interception.. According to the proposal, criminal intelligence methods should not be targeted at premises intended for permanent residence.

The current legislative proposal has prepared provisions for threat-informed criminal intelligence that are deemed possible within the framework of the current Constitution. Section 10 of the Constitution provides for the protection of confidential communications and domestic privacy, which may be restricted by law only within the framework of express grounds (qualified limitation clauses) laid down in the Constitution. Current provisions do not allow for the threat-informed restriction of these fundamental rights in order to combat serious crime. 

The Helsinki District Court would decide centrally on the use of the methods, such as technical observation and technical tracking of a person, that most strongly intrude on protection of privacy. The Director of the National Bureau of Investigation would decide on undercover activities and pseudo purchases, but the court would decide whether the conditions for use exist. 

The decision to launch threat-informed criminal intelligence could also be made by a commanding police officer familiar with criminal intelligence. At command level, decisions could be made on, among other things, extended surveillance, technical observation of premises other than those covered by the right to domestic privacy, undercover activities carried out in an information network, and covert intelligence collection. In an emergency, a decision could also be made at command level on methods that fall within the court’s decision-making authority until the court has made a decision on the request to grant authorisation. 

External legality oversight of criminal intelligence would be carried out by the Intelligence Ombudsman in addition to supreme overseers of legality. The police would have to keep the Intelligence Ombudsman informed of the decisions and use of criminal intelligence methods.

The Intelligence Ombudsman has wide-ranging rights to access information and powers to carry out oversight of legality. This oversight would safeguard the legal protection of persons targeted by criminal intelligence. 

Oversight of criminal intelligence collection in the administrative branch of the Ministry of the Interior would be the responsibility of the National Police Board and the police units carrying out intelligence collection. The Ministry of the Interior would have to submit an annual report to the Parliamentary Ombudsman and the Intelligence Ombudsman on the use and oversight of criminal intelligence methods and their protection.

The police would be able to use information obtained through criminal intelligence methods to combat threats of serious crime, prevent crime and target police action.

The use of information obtained through criminal intelligence methods to solve an offence, for example as evidence in a criminal case, would be significantly restricted for reasons of legal protection.

Information obtained through criminal intelligence methods could also be used as evidence in support of innocence and, among other things, to prevent a significant risk to life, health or freedom. Information obtained through criminal intelligence methods could, under certain conditions, also be disclosed to other public authorities. 

Criminal intelligence will not create a new task for the police, nor will it alter the division of responsibilities between the authorities. Within the scope of police duties, criminal intelligence is linked to crime prevention. The task of the Finnish Security and Intelligence Service is to prevent threats to national security.

Civilian intelligence focuses on intelligence of threats to national security and on informing the highest levels of government, with no direct link to crime and criminal acts.

The police are the general public authority for internal security and are primarily responsible for the prevention and operational response to serious crime and threats of serious crime.

Criminal intelligence provides information to support decision-making in the fight against crime and in combating the threats posed by crime. 

Threats to national security can also manifest themselves in society in the form of crime. In these situations, the importance of cooperation, exchange of information and operational coordination between public authorities is underlined. 

According to the Government Programme, the Government will assess the need to specify the Constitution to enable the effective gathering of criminal intelligence. 

Section 10 of the Constitution, concerning the protection of private life, is being reviewed under the leadership of the Ministry of Justice. The amendments to the Constitution currently under preparation aim, among other things, to step up the fight against serious crime.

The current legislative proposal has prepared provisions for threat-informed criminal intelligence that are deemed possible within the framework of the current Constitution. In the second phase of the criminal intelligence project, amendments will be prepared which, if implemented, would require changes to the limitation clauses of section 10 of the Constitution concerning the protection of confidential communications and domestic privacy.  

More information about the Ministry of Justice project | in Finnish 

With automated web crawlers, i.e. automated intelligence collection systems, the police would be able to collect intelligence about groups operating online whose purpose is criminal activity such as drug trafficking or sexual abuse of children.