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WEEKLY NEWSLETTER
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Finland
Index
The Security Police (Suojelupoliisi--SUPO) had its
headquarters in Helsinki, but it maintained bureau and
district
offices in various parts of Finland. Formed in 1948, it
replaced
a similar police force dating from the late 1930s. Its
function
was to investigate crimes and offenses against the law and
order
of the state, including subversion, conspiracy, and
espionage.
SUPO had, in addition, certain responsibilities for
safeguarding
classified government documents and for checking on
foreign
citizens visiting or working in Finland. It conducted
liaison
with security and intelligence organizations of other
countries.
Agents of SUPO did not have the right to make arrests or
to
detain anyone, nor were they authorized to search private
residences. Anyone suspected by SUPO of having committed a
crime
was dealt with by a criminal investigation unit.
The country faced few internal security problems. It
continued to be a homogeneous nation with only 20,000
foreign
residents and an immigration quota of 200 people a year.
Admittance was denied to job seekers from Third World
countries.
The few Soviet defectors who managed to escape across the
border
into Finland were carefully screened, and most were sent
back. A
few were granted asylum as political refugees; others
succeeded
in reaching Sweden before being apprehended by Finnish
authorities.
Data as of December 1988
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