The support prescribed in the Government Programme to the development of cooperation between the Police, Customs and Border Guard strengthens the internal security of our society. All three authorities see this support as important for the developing means of combating cross-border crime. PCB cooperation enables an efficient response to the challenges occurring our operational environments.
The purpose of PCB cooperation is to combat especially cross-border crime and organised crime. The cooperation serves in reacting quickly also to other new phenomena in a changed operational environment.
- PCB cooperation has a long tradition. The aim of the cooperation is to increase security and to enforce criminal liability. In recent years, PCB cooperation has been under systematic observation and development. The driving force behind the development is our ever-changing operational environment. Growing demands on the activity of PCB authorities and, for example, international obligations especially in the processing of passenger data at the EU level also play a part. It is important to continue this development, and it is very good that the Government Programme also considers this requirement, says National Police Commissioner Seppo Kolehmainen of the National Police Board of Finland.
The international field of crime is changing, and technological developments pose new challenges to authorities. The ability that PCB authorities have in combating criminal phenomena in advance guarantees the internal security of Finnish society.
– PCB cooperation provides an excellent framework for holistic responses to challenges that become ever more complicated as our society moves forward. From the Customs point of view, PCB cooperation yields results and is smooth. It is outstanding that there is the will to secure the prerequisites for the activity of PCB authorities. This has to be done for all three authorities, so that PCB cooperation can produce maximum safety and security, says Hannu Mäkinen, Director General of Finnish Customs.
– Intense PCB cooperation is a Finnish curiosity, but an excellent one. Our authorities have always renewed their cooperation according to the needs of each time period. Finland’s security environment is currently changing. However, PCB cooperation has been modified to respond to new demands. Our PCB framework is in good form for the implementation of the Government Programme, says Lieutenant General Pasi Kostamovaara, Chief of the Finnish Border Guard.
Joint competence of PCB authorities supports internal societal security
The current Government Programme provides for operational prerequisites and competencies for PCB cooperation.
All three PCB authorities have their own competencies in combating cross-border crime. The tasks of Customs and the Border Guard are connected in that, for Customs, they involve customs offences and, for the Border Guard, they involve border crossings by persons. The Police for their part have the possibility of combating all types of crime.
Further development of PCB cooperation means strong support for the internal safety and security of the Finnish society.
More information:
Police: National Police Commissioner Seppo Kolehmainen, tel. 0295 418 900, and Chief Superintendent Sami Kalliomaa, tel. 0295 481 740
Customs: Hannu Mäkinen, Director General, interview requests to the Customs Media Service, tel. +358 295 527 150, [email protected]
Border Guard: Border Guard media service, tel. 050 456 2862, viestinta(at)raja.fi
