Study title

Police Barometer 2022

Dataset ID Number

FSD3941

Persistent identifiers

https://urn.fi/urn:nbn:fi:fsd:T-FSD3941
https://doi.org/10.60686/t-fsd3941

Data Type

Quantitative

Authors

• Vuorensyrjä, Matti (Police University College)
• Ministry of the Interior
• Statistics Finland

Abstract

The Police Barometer 2022 surveys citizens' views on the operation of the police and the state of internal security in Finland. The survey examined respondents' trust in the police, the legitimacy of the police, the availability and effectiveness of police services, police visibility, experiences with crime, and the reporting of crimes. The survey was conducted in cooperation with the Ministry of the Interior, Statistics Finland, and the Police University College.

Initially, respondents assessed the police's ability to ensure public order and safety, as well as the importance of various police duties. Respondents' sense of security and fear of crime were studied by asking how serious they considered crime to be in their local area and to what extent various issues and phenomena concerned them. The survey then explored whether the respondent had been a victim of various crimes (e.g., theft, car theft, armed threats, data breaches, or sexual harassment), whether they had been a witness or a plaintiff in a criminal proceeding, and whether they had experienced threats or pressure from someone involved in a criminal proceeding. Additionally, respondents were asked whether they had reported the crime to the police after becoming a victim or target of a crime, and if not, what was the reason for not reporting it.

The final section of the survey focused on evaluating police performance. It examined the availability and visibility of police services by asking, for example, how often police patrols are seen in the residential area and how far the nearest police station is. The quality of police services was assessed by asking whether the respondent had been in contact with the police during the past 12 months, why they had been in contact with the police, and how they had been treated. Respondents were also asked how well the police have performed in various tasks and in crime prevention, as well as how police services have developed in their area recently. Finally, respondents assessed whether the police treat people differently based on their ethnic characteristics or socioeconomic status, as well as their own trust in the police, fire and rescue services, emergency response centers, private security companies, border guard services, customs, defense forces, and the judicial system.

Background variables included the respondent's gender, age, employment status, education, income level, police department area, and whether the respondent or a close relative works for the police.

Keywords

crime and security; crime prevention; crime victims; fear of crime; law enforcement; offences; personal safety; police services; police-community relationship; policing; trust

Topic Classification

• Social sciences (Fields of Science Classification)
• Law, crime and legal systems (CESSDA Topic Classification)
• Crime and law enforcement (CESSDA Topic Classification)

Series

Police Barometers

Distributor

Finnish Social Science Data Archive

Access

The dataset is (B) available for research, teaching and study.

Data Collector

• Statistics Finland

Funders

• Ministry of the Interior

Time Period Covered

2022

Collection Dates

2022-10-01 – 2022-12-14

Nation

Finland

Geographical Coverage

Finland

Analysis/Observation Unit Type

Individual

Universe

People aged 15-75 residing in Finland (excluding the Åland Islands)

Time Method

Longitudinal: Trend/Repeated cross-section

Sampling Procedure

Probability: Stratified: Proportional

The sample was drawn using random sampling from the entire population based on Statistics Finland's database on the Finnish population, excluding the Åland Islands. The sample size was 8,500 individuals, of whom 4,044 (47.6%) responded to the survey after three mailing rounds. The sample selection was stratified using proportional quotas based on gender and age groups. The sample also included overcoverage, as the registers from which the samples are drawn are not fully up to date. Had this information been available, the net sample would have been somewhat smaller, and the response rate correspondingly slightly higher. A total of 4,456 individuals, or 52.42% of the sample, did not respond.

Collection Mode

Self-administered questionnaire: Web-based (CAWI)

Self-administered questionnaire: Paper

Research Instrument

Structured questionnaire

Response Rate

47.58

Data File Language

Downloaded data package may contain different language versions of the same files.

The data files of this dataset are available in the following languages: Finnish.

FSD translates quantitative data into English on request, free of charge. More information on ordering data translation.

Data Version

1.0

Completeness of Data and Restrictions

The researchers have anonymized the data by removing the municipality variable and the open-ended response variable.

Weighting

The data includes weight variables (Korpaino) and (Apaino). An estimation weight (KORPAINO) was created for each respondent in the data to adjust for response bias and non-response. This weight can be interpreted to mean that each individual participating in the study represents the number of people in the target population indicated by their weight. So-called analysis weights (APAINO) were created by removing the scaling effect. This was done by rescaling the estimation weight to a base weight representing the sampling situation: 4,180,614 / 4,044 (interpretable as a simple random sampling weight). When using this weight, the total in a distribution or the corner column of a cross-tabulation will sum to the number of observations, 4,044.

Citation Requirement

The data and its creators shall be cited in all publications and presentations for which the data have been used. The bibliographic citation may be in the form suggested by the archive or in the form required by the publication.

Bibliographical Citation

Vuorensyrjä, Matti (Police University College) & Ministry of the Interior & Statistics Finland: Police Barometer 2022 [dataset]. Data version 1.0 (2025-06-17). Finnish Social Science Data Archive [distributor]. DOI: https://doi.org/10.60686/t-fsd3941; URN: https://urn.fi/urn:nbn:fi:fsd:T-FSD3941

Deposit Requirement

Notify FSD of all publications where you have used the data by sending the citation information to user-services.fsd@tuni.fi.

Disclaimer

The original data creators and the archive bear no responsibility for any results or interpretations arising from the reuse of the data.

Related Publications

Vuorensyrjä, M. (2025). Protection. A Key to the Code of Witness Intimidation? In Vuorensyrjä, M. & Rauta, J. (eds.), The Police and the Public. In-Depth Essays Based on Police Barometer Survey Data, Vol. I (pp. 107-144). Second, revised edition. Police University College, Tampere.

Vuorensyrjä, M. (2025). The Dark Side of the Dark Figure of Crime. A Study of Victims Who Leave Crimes Unreported Out of Fear of Reprisal. In Vuorensyrjä, M. & Rauta, J. (eds.), The Police and the Public. In-Depth Essays Based on Police Barometer Survey Data, Vol. I (pp. 68-106). Second, revised edition. Police University College, Tampere

Vuorensyrjä, M. & Rauta, J. (2025). Public Austerity Programs and Citizens' Trust in the Operation of the Police. In Vuorensyrjä, M. & Rauta, J. (eds.), The Police and the Public. In-Depth Essays Based on Police Barometer Survey Data, Vol. I (pp. 22-67). Second, revised edition. Police University College, Tampere.

Vuorensyrjä, M. & Rauta, J. (eds.) (2025). The Police and the Public. In-Depth Essays Based on Police Barometer Survey Data, Vol. I. Second, revised edition. Police University College, Tampere.

Vuorensyrjä, M., Rauta, J., Attila, H., Koivula, J. & Ollila, P. (2023). Poliisibarometri 2022. Kansalaisten arviot poliisin toiminnasta ja Suomen sisäisen turvallisuuden tilasta. Sisäministeriö, Helsinki.