Peace, justice and good governance
Ensuring and developing the good governance, legal certainty and internal control of the Finnish Border Guard.
Indicator:
Number of administrative decisions overturned on appeal in relation to the total number of administrative appeals. Number of complaints that led to action in relation to the total number of administrative complaints. Customer service and customer satisfaction surveys for people crossing the border (1-5). Surveys on the sense of security experienced by residents of sparsely populated areas with regard to the operation of the Finnish Border Guard (1-5). Monitoring the number of completed online anti-corruption training modules.
Measures and realisation:
The Finnish Border Guard has strived to establish accessibility as a mindset that permeates all its functions. The Border Guard conducted a survey for residents in sparsely populated areas to explore their experiences on matters such as the availability of the Border Guard’s services and communication to determine whether they receive sufficient advice and information about the Border Guard’s services and operations in their native language (Finnish, Swedish or Sámi). Overall, the average score for the questions measuring the above matters decreased slightly (2024: 3.6; 2023: 3.7).
The effective and credible monitoring of the legality and appropriateness of operations promotes good operational quality and good governance. Internal control has been implemented by the Headquarters of the Finnish Border Guard and administrative units. Training on internal control and instructions to support the operations have been provided. The internal audit unit has assessed and verified the internal control procedures.
In 2024, 28 administrative appeals were made in the Border Guard. In 2024, the Administrative Courts decided six appeals that had been made in the same year. In five cases the appeal was rejected, and in one case the decision of the Border Guard was overturned. In 2024, 20 administrative appeals were made, of which 14 were decided in the same year. In two of the cases, the administrative unit gave its opinion on the legality of the procedure. In the other cases, the appeals did not lead to any action beyond a response.
The use of the Border Guard’s whistleblower channel has become established in 2024. The whistleblower channel is also the internal reporting channel as referred to in chapter 3 of the Act on the Protection of Persons Reporting Infringements of European Union and National Law (1171/2022, Whistleblower Act). No reports falling within the scope of the Whistleblower Act were submitted to the whistleblower channel in 2024, either; instead, the reports mainly involved complaints.
By the end of 2024, 2,532 officials had completed anti-corruption training in accordance with the Border Guard's anti-corruption operational programme and the related instructions, which entered into force on 1 November 2023. 100% of the high command of the Border Guard has completed the ethics training for high command.
Fighting cross-border crime effectively.
Indicator:
Resolution rate of criminal offences under the Finnish Criminal Code (1-5). Resolution rate of the offences of facilitation of illegal entry and trafficking in human beings (1-5). Protection under the law in crime prevention (1-5).
Measures and realisation:
The Border Guard’s resolution rate of criminal offences under the Finnish Criminal Code has remained high and improved compared to the previous year. This change is partly explained by the effective transfer of previously opened criminal investigations to the consideration of charges, or their closure by lead investigators. A significant number of the investigations that have been closed or transferred to the consideration of charges have been related to the phenomenon of illegal immigration at the eastern border, which started last year.
The resolution rate of cases involving the offences of facilitation of illegal entry and trafficking in human beings has remained at the same level as the previous year. These offences involve the most important and challenging criminal investigations for which the Border Guard is responsible. These types of investigations generally require a large number of investigative measures, meaning that on average, their resolution rate remains at the same level each year.
Protection under the law in crime prevention has remained at an excellent level. At most, individual decisions, measures or demands are amended, corrected or overturned relating to protection under the law in crime prevention each year. Corrective measures are implemented as a part of self-monitoring or as a result of a complaint by the subject of the measure. In relation to the number of corrective measures implemented, the quality of the measures taken and the decisions made can generally be considered excellent.
