Duties and Jurisdiction
Main duties of the Finnish Border Guard:
- Controlling the land borders and territorial waters of Finland.
- Passport control at border crossing points, airports and ports.
- 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.
- 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.
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 a 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 quick response teams that can be used to support the police in exceptional situations. This has been done several times in recent history to supplement riot police during high profile international events where there is a considerable danger of violent demonstrations. 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 border zone towards Russia and issues the permits to visit the zone.
Read more about this topic: Finnish Border Guard
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