Youth crime down in Helsinki, drug-related problems on the rise

The Helsinki Police Department and the City of Helsinki work together closely in various ways. This cooperation is based on a shared situational awareness.

The focus of the cooperation is on preventing youth crime, reducing the harm and disturbances caused by drug use, and improving the sense of safety in areas and at times when the perceived lack of safety is higher than average.

Drug use and violence increase feeling of being unsafe

People in Helsinki feel unsafe most often on weekends in the northeastern and eastern districts of the city, stretching from Vuosaari to Malmi and Puistola. In addition, people said they felt less safe in Helsinki’s districts of Alppiharju, Kallio, and Vallila.

Feelings of being unsafe are also common in downtown Helsinki on the weekends. Women and the youngest respondents, aged 15–29, are most likely to feel unsafe in the city centre. In the evenings, people felt significantly less safe on the metro and local trains than on trams or buses.

“Regional differences in insecurity on weekend evenings remain significant. Witnessing violence and drug use in one's own neighbourhood is strongly linked to feelings of insecurity on weekend evenings. In addition, previous experiences of victimisation, low health status, and low trust in the help of other residents are linked to feelings of being unsafe,” said researcher Jenni Erjansola from the City of Helsinki's Urban Research and Statistics.

Minority status, as measured by reported first language, does not appear to explain perceived feelings of being unsafe in one's own neighbourhood. Trust in the police and emergency services was also not clearly linked to a perceived lack of safety, when examined alongside other explanatory factors. Around nine out of ten Helsinki residents say that they trust these institutions.

Slightly more than half believe that safety in Helsinki has deteriorated over the past three years. In the 2018 and 2021 surveys, a significantly higher proportion of respondents felt that safety levels had deteriorated rather than improved.

General risk awareness may also influence this assessment, and perceptions may be exaggerated if they are based on unrest among other population groups, crime reporting or the active use of social media.

“Helsinki residents generally feel safe in all residential areas of our city. Even so, there are also some unfavourable developments. Experiences of a declining sense of safety must be taken seriously. We need new methods and extensive cooperation among different actors to improve the sense of safety in Helsinki,” said Helsinki Mayor Daniel Sazonov.

The data for the Helsinki Safety Survey was collected at the turn of 2024‒2025.

Cycles of serious crime among young people have been successfully curbed through cooperation between the Helsinki Police Department and the City of Helsinki

Youth crime, especially robberies and street gangs, has been the focus of cooperation between the Helsinki Police Department and the City of Helsinki in recent years.

The increase in robberies committed by minors coincided with the emergence of street gangs. At that time, street gangs were at their most visible on social media, and other young people who had committed serious crimes were also found to idealise the criminal lifestyle.

In 2024, the number of crime reports involving street gang members decreased compared to the previous year. The police consider that this is the result of proactive measures by the authorities, as key members of street gangs have been the subject of criminal investigations and have been sentenced for various offences.

Crimes committed by persons under the age of 18 have decreased since 2024, and the decline has continued.

Crimes committed by persons under the age of 18 have fallen by around 5% during the first six months of 2025 compared to the same period in 2024. Among 15–17-year-olds, crimes have decreased by 34%, and among those under 15, by 71%.

"The decrease of robberies among minors shows that we have together with the City of Helsinki and other third-sector organisations succeeded in curbing the cycle of serious criminal activities among young people. Removing the most persistent offenders from the streets often has a calming effect on their wider circle of friends,” said Police Chief Jari Liukku.

A special unit called “Toivo” was established within the City of Helsinki's child welfare services in 2021. It is intended for young people aged 12–17 who are in open and foster care and face serious challenges due to crime, substance abuse or behavioural issues.

The Helsinki Police Department and the City of Helsinki will continue to develop school police activities. To support and develop these activities, the City of Helsinki will assign a stakeholder expert to work at the Helsinki Police Department. Similarly, the City of Helsinki has long had a police coordinator appointed by the Helsinki Police Department.

“I am very pleased that we have been able to strengthen cooperation between the City of Helsinki and the Helsinki Police Department. It has been crucial that the city and the police have successfully established effective structures for collaboration and have agreed on several concrete measures to strengthen our joint work. Special attention has been given to children and young people, with a focus on improving their wellbeing and safety," said Mayor Sazonov.

Cooperation between the police and youth services is being developed, particularly in terms of outreach activities, so that more trained adults are available to young people in places they frequent, including in the evenings and at weekends.

Helsinki's traffic arrangements and police supervision increase traffic safety in Helsinki

The speed limit on Helsinki's streets is currently 30 kilometres per hour in most cases, which has significantly improved traffic safety.

“Helsinki will soon lower the speed limit on 50 streets near schools to 30 kilometres per hour. Some streets will also undergo modifications to support the speed reduction, such as speed bumps or speed display boards," said Mayor Sazonov.

The taxi arrangements in the square outside the Central Railway Station have been successfully revamped and the situation in the area has stabilised. The city put taxi services out to tender because competition for customers was causing disturbances and police interventions. As a result of the competitive bidding, two taxi companies now operate at Asema-aukio, and automatic gates control the traffic. In addition, police and parking enforcement have been increased in the area to prevent unauthorised taxi operators from picking up customers outside the area.

The city has also restricted the parking of shared electric scooters in the city centre. The monitoring of electric scooters is one of the priorities of the Helsinki Police Department's traffic control.

"The Helsinki Police Department carries out breathalyser tests on approximately 60,000 drivers per year, detects approximately 1,500 cases of drunk driving, and issues approximately 30,000 traffic fines. Approximately half of the drunk driving cases are related to narcotics,” said Police Chief Liukku.

The primary objective of police traffic control is to reduce the number of traffic fatalities and enhancetraffic safety.

Cities and police departments in the capital region are stepping up cooperation to reduce the harmful effects of drugs

Disturbances visible on the streets of Helsinki are mainly related to drug use and associated crimes.

Rising drug use and the associated harm will become more visible on the streets if the trend cannot be reversed. There are dozens of cameras in the Helsinki area, which the police’s command centre uses to monitor public order and safety. The camera system also helps in solving crimes. For this reason, the camera system will be developed based on security research.

“The Helsinki Police Department monitors and anticipates the security situation in real time, and the police target their surveillance and other measures based on this. We have significantly increased surveillance in areas prone to disturbances, and the number of public order tasks has doubled in the first half of the year,” said Police Chief Liukku.

The Helsinki Police Department and the City of Helsinki are stepping up their cooperation in referring people to substance abuse treatment and preventing drug-related deaths, particularly for those people who are in police custody, as approximately 16,000 people are detained each year. Many police custody clients have serious substance abuse problems. The approach is being developed in cooperation with the police, substance abuse services, service users and experts who have experience in this area.

Drug addiction is a serious health problem that has many negative consequences for the individual, their loved ones, and society as a whole.

Supporting drug addicts and their loved ones is in everyone's interest, as it helps to reduce drug use and prevent the harm it causes.

The leaders of Helsinki, Espoo, and Vantaa met with the leaders of the Helsinki and Western and Eastern Uusimaa Police Departments in Helsinki on August 22 to discuss the drug situation.

“The harmful effects of drugs on Helsinki's streets have clearly increased. The city's wide range of services, including prevention and corrective measures, is working at the forefront to address the problem. The situation also requires new, determined action from the city. We are drawing up a substance abuse strategy to respond to the drug situation in Helsinki. In addition, the city has begun preparations for swift-impact measures to reduce the harm caused by drug use,” said Mayor Sazonov.