The Police University College of Finland is participating in two research projects that will provide an overview of the current situation with organised crime and related phenomena in Finland and the Nordic countries.
The objective of the project “Situational picture of Organised Crime in Finland 2025” is to understand the extent of and trends in organised crime and the means of combating organised crime.
The project will produce up-to-date and research-based information on organised crime in Finland. The data for the study will mainly be collected from open sources. In addition to research data, the study will also utilise risk assessments and statistics, among other things. The Police University College supports the Institute of Criminology and Legal Policy (Krimo) at the University of Helsinki, which co-ordinates the project, by analysing statistics and international reference data.
“In line with the project, the Police University College will continue to work on the strategy against organised crime. The strategy co-ordinated by the Finnish Ministry of Justice was updated in February 2025, and for the update, the Police University College produced the reports as part of the TOC24 and Järis projects. The current project, in turn, is implementing the strategy,” says Vesa Muttilainen, Senior Researcher at the Police University College.
The project will provide comprehensive benefits to various parties in society
What kind of unlawful influence do law enforcement authorities face in the Nordic countries? This is investigated by the project “Organized Crime and Unlawful Influence: Mapping Nordic Knowledge”. The project is based on earlier research results and strategy documents on various threats, such as harassment, corruption and violence.
“The project surveys and analyses data from the five Nordic countries. The Police University College supports Krimo, which co-ordinates the project, by means such as analysing the Police Barometer and other data on the Finnish police,” Vesa Muttilainen says.
Research on organised crime benefits a wide range of parties in society.
“For the authorities, the projects provide information on the trends in serious crime and support strategic analysis and planning. The material produced in the projects can also be used in the enhancement of crime prevention and legislation and as part of police training. Various organisations and enterprises, on the other hand, can use the information for issues such as supporting the risk analysis of their operations.”
The projects are a continuation to the earlier research projects concerning organised crime and other serious crime, in which the Police University College has been involved. The projects will continue until March 2026.
