Thu, 20 Nov, 2014 12:02:03 AM FTimes - STT Report, Nov. 20 ![]() Finnish Police Federation brought out protest procession in Helsinki on Wednesday. Photo – Lehtikuva. Several hundred police staged a demonstration and marched to the city centre in Helsinki in a quiet and peaceful protest on Wednesday against declining resources in the police administration.
The Finnish Police Federation-SPJL also expressed concern at the cut of manpower following the austerity measures.
According to SPJL, one police officer is responsible for the safety of more than 700 inhabitants in Finland, while the European average is one officer for 400 inhabitants.
According to the Helsinki Police Department, more than 1,000 SJPL members had informed in advance that they would participate in the demonstration.
The line of demonstrators extended all the way from the Lasipalatsi (Glass Palace) to the Helsinki Music Centre.
The procession took the demonstrators from the Music Centre to the Helsinki Senate House, where members of parliament delivered speeches.
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Photo – Lehtikuva. According to STT, the procession was quiet and peaceful. The demonstrators wore blue caps and SJPL vests.
Police Commissioner Mikko Paatero pointed out that although Finland is a long way behind other Nordic countries in terms of number of police officers, more cuts seem to be on the way.
Currently, the country has about 7,500 police officers, while Sweden, which is slightly larger, has approximately 20,000 police officers.
Denmark, which has almost the same population as Finland, has more than 10,000 police officers.
Norway has slightly less than 9,000 police officers. However, the figure is growing following the Utöya terrorist attack.
“If the figures are compared based on the number of residents, we should have several more thousand police officers,” said Paatero.
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