Traditionally, young people want to celebrate the end of school by gathering with friends.
The youth services and other organisations will interact with young people under the age of 18 all over Helsinki to help and speak with them. The work will focus on meeting places favoured by young people, such as parks, beaches and the yard areas of daycare centres and schools.
Helsinki Police will again intensify monitoring of youth gatherings during the school graduation weekend. On the graduation evening, the police will cooperate with the City of Helsinki Youth Services and voluntary youth workers.
The visible police presence will aim to prevent disturbances in public order, accidents and young people becoming victims of crime. “The idea is to cover the entire Helsinki area and intervene in the substance abuse of minors and other situations endangering public order or safety. On such occasions, we will try to contact the guardians, so please remember that you may get a call from an unknown number.” says police sergeant Leea Virkkunen from the Helsinki Police Department.
“The use of intoxicants during the celebration has decreased, and things have generally calmed down. As a result, disruptions and excesses have decreased over the years. We hope that guardians will agree on rules for the evening with their young people at home. They should also keep in touch with their children during the evening,” says Kaisa Kivelä, Manager at the City of Helsinki’s Youth Services.
“As for the young people, we urge you to take care of yourself and your friends and call for help if something bad happens during the evening. You can always turn to the police and youth workers or call the emergency number 112.“