Finland: security services using excessive force

In Finland, several cases of employees of private security companies humiliating or physically abusing persons they have detained have come to light in recent weeks. Such services are contracted to improve security at railway stations and in trains, for example. One of the companies has repeatedly been accused of excessive use of force since 2016. What action should be taken?

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Kaleva (FI) /

Tackle abuse now

Private security services have gambled away the trust placed in them, Kaleva observes:

“The vast majority of employees in this sector do their work well and reliably. ... At the same time, however, the profession also carries the risk of unqualified staff abusing their position as security guards or watchmen to use violence. ... The abuses in the industry must be remedied if only because there can be no returning to the time when the authorities handled all public security tasks. Security services are needed for precisely defined tasks, but these companies and their employees must prove that they are worthy of the trust placed in them. This trust has now been badly shaken.”

Iltalehti (FI) /

Training is the key

Only proper training can remedy the problems with security service employees, Iltalehti stresses:

“Training plays a key role in the way security guards operate. So if you want to correct the practices in this industry, it must be done through training. The teaching of unlawful practices is utterly unacceptable. ... It is the responsibility of the employer to ensure that the working culture of the company does not develop into one where the inappropriate use of force is tolerated.”