Finnish Border Guard

Main duties of the Finnish Border Guard:

• Protecting the land borders and territorial waters of Finland from unauthorised encroachment.
• Passport control at border crossing points, airports and ports.
• First line of defence against territorial invasions.
• Rescue operations (mainly at sea and in the remote areas of Lapland).
• Provide aid to other authorities such as the fire department in case of unusual events like wild fires.
• Investigation of crimes pertaining to border security.
• Aiding police forces in civil duties such as crowd control and riot control.
• Military operations pertaining to internal security.
• Customs control in the minor border crossing points without customs authorities.
• Training of conscripts for wartime duty. These include rajajääkäri (border jaegers) and erikoisrajajääkäri (special border jaegers).
• (During wartime) Long range patrols and guerrilla tactics behind enemy lines.

The agency has police and investigative powers in immigration matters and can independently investigate immigration violations with search and rescue (SAR) duties, both maritime and inland. Missions inland are often carried out in co-operation with local fire and rescue departments or other authorities.

For the discharge of its duties, the Border Guard has limited police powers in the areas where it operates.

It can, for example, seize and arrest persons and conduct searches in apartments and cars pursuant to same legislation as the police, when investigating a crime.

However, the power to arrest a person has been delegated only to the commanding officers of border control detachments and commanders and vice-commanders of larger units.

The Border Guard is not supposed to be used for the keeping of public order under normal circumstances, but it has two readiness platoons that can be used to support the police in exceptional situations in matters of crowd control and internal security (including incidents involving dangerous armed criminals).^[4]

The readiness platoons have been used to supplement riot police during high-profile international events where there is a perceived danger of violent demonstrations, e.g. during the "Smash ASEM" demonstration in 2006.^[5]

However, the main duty of the readiness platoons is to handle the most demanding border security incidents.^[4] Border Guard helicopters have also been used to assist police and rescue authorities in various missions.

The Border Guard also has the power to keep public order in its own facilities and in their immediate vicinity. For the execution of its military exercises, any officer with the minimum rank of Captain can close an area temporarily.

The Border Guard is responsible for enforcing the 3–5 km (1.9–3.1 mi) border zone towards Russia and issues the permits to visit the zone.

The Border Guard is a military organisation, subordinate to the Ministry of the Interior in administrative issues and to the president of Finland in issues pertaining to his authority as Commander-in-Chief (e.g. officer promotions).

Administrative units are responsible for the functions of the Border Guard.

These administrative units are the Border Guard Headquarters, Southeast Finland, North Karelia, Kainuu and Lapland border guard districts, the Gulf of Finland and West Finland coast guard districts, Air Patrol Squadron and Border and Coast Guard Academy.

The Border Guards have two readiness units; the 1st Special Intervention Unit, which operates in South-Eastern Finland, and the 5th Special Intervention Unit, which operates in the Gulf of Finland area.^[6]

The Finnish Border Guard consists of 3,800 active duty personnel. Upon mobilization, it would be wholly or partly incorporated into the Finnish Defence Forces and its strength increased with reservists who have served their conscription in the branch.

The mobilized strength of the Finnish Border Guard is 12,600 servicemen.

The Finland–Russia border is actively monitored. The western sea borders and the western and northern land borders to Sweden and Norway are free to cross under the Nordic passport union, the Border Guard does however maintain personnel in these regions owing to its SAR duties.

There is a separate Finnish Customs agency, and immigration is also handled by the Finnish National Police and the Finnish Directorate of Immigration.

PTR (police, customs and border guard) co-operation is well-developed and allows the authorities to conduct each other's duties if necessary.

The basic training of border guard personnel is based in Imatra, while the sea training for coast guards is based in Turku.^[7]

After the Finnish Civil War in 1919, the control of the Finnish borders was given to the former Finnish Russian frontier troops under the command of the Ministry of Interior. Until 1945, only the Russian border was supervised by the Frontier Guard, the Swedish and Norwegian borders having only customs control. In 1929, a separate Sea Guard was founded to prevent the rampant alcohol smuggling caused by the Finnish prohibition of alcohol (1919–1932).

At the start of the Winter War there were nine Border Companies (Rajakomppania) on the Karelian Isthmus. North of Lake Ladoga the Frontier Guards were combined into six Detached Battalions (Erillinen pataljoona). Further north in Petsamo the defence was left to the 10th Detached Company (10. Erillinen komppania). After the war Marshal Mannerheim awarded all frontier guards the title "Border jäger" (Rajajääkäri). During the Continuation War, the Frontier Guard companies were combined into 12 Border Jäger battalions (Rajajääkäripataljoona) and later during the Lapland War into a Border Jäger Brigade (Rajajääkäriprikaati).

After the Second World War, the Border Guards were placed on all Finnish borders. In the 1950s, the Sea Guard was attached to the Border Guard. Since then, the Border Guard has received a fine public image. It is famed for the wilderness skills of its guards foot-patrolling the forest-covered Russian border, its good efficiency in catching the few illegal border crossers and for the fact that it is the only state authority in large parts of Lapland. In these matters it resembles the popular image of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. The Border Guard of Finland is one of the links of the chain of protectors of the external borders of the European Union and Schengen agreement.

Nearly every Border Guard District trains small number of conscripts for long range reconnaissance (Finnish: Sissi). Conscripts in Border Guard companies are mostly volunteers and preferably selected from the occupants of border areas, and while trained by Border Guard, they do not perform regular border control duties. Rivalry between Sissi from Border Guards and Defence Forces is traditionally high.

Employment in Border Guard is much sought for, especially in North and Eastern Finland, which suffer from chronic unemployment problems. Typically a vacancy in the Border Guard receives at least 50 applications.

• Crime in Finland
• Finnish Security Intelligence Service
• Frontex (The European Agency for the Management of Operational Cooperation at the External Borders of the Member States of the European Union)
• Law enforcement in Finland
• National Bureau of Investigation (Finland)
• Police of Finland