MINISTER of the Interior Krista Mikkonen (Greens) has asked the National Police Board to compile a report on how the police is monitoring the operations of security companies and individual security guards.
Mikkonen on Monday wrote in a tweet that the deep-rooted problems in the security industry must be weeded out, pointing to recent news reports.
“The public must be able to trust that operators in the security space are professional, regardless of whether we’re talking about authorities or the employees of security companies. Training and monitoring is necessary to make sure no excess use of force of abuse of the position occurs,” she underscored.
Mikkonen said she requested the report last week, adding that decision-makers would use it as a basis for examining the need for measures.
In Espoo on Saturday, a woman died after being apprehended and held on the floor by four security guards in Iso Omena Shopping Centre. Eyewitness accounts indicate that the woman was held on the floor on her stomach, with one also saying the woman asked someone to call 112, the Finnish emergency number, according to Helsingin Sanomat.
Jyri Paasonen, a researcher specialising in the security industry at the University of Vaasa, told the newspaper that based on a video and photos of the incident the security guards appeared to use force to apprehend the woman in a measured fashion.
“Forcible measures are justified because you can see resistance on the video,” he said on Sunday.
The death is being investigated as negligent homicide by Western Uusimaa Police Department. Securitas, the employer of the security guards, has also launched an internal inquest into the incident.
Police in December revealed that several security guards are suspected of a series of more than 20 offences that are believed to have taken place between May and December 2022. Among the offences under investigation are numerous assaults, illegal threat, defamation, secrecy offence and illegal use of narcotics.
Aleksi Teivainen – HT
