Reporting an offence and pre-trial investigation

Anyone can report an offence to the police. You can report an offence even if you are not the injured party or victim.

Report an offence primarily in the police e-servicesOpens in a new window.. You can also report it at a police station or by phone. In an emergency, call the emergency number 112.

You can report an offence even if it happened in the past. However, there is a limitation period for bringing charges for an offence, ranging from two to twenty years.

Only offences punishable by life imprisonment do not expire. A sentence of life imprisonment may be imposed for murder, for example.

You can report an offence even if the perpetrator is under 15 years of age. Persons under 15 years of age cannot be charged or convicted of an offence, but they may have to compensate for the damage they have caused. The need for a pre-trial investigation is assessed on a case-by-case basis.

When the police suspect an offence, they start a pre-trial investigation. The suspicion may arise from a report of an offence or other information.

The pre-trial investigation is usually carried out by the local police. The head investigator decides on the start, scope and termination of the pre-trial investigation.

During the pre-trial investigation, the police question the injured party (victim) and the person suspected of the offence. Potential eyewitnesses and other parties can be questioned as witnesses. If necessary, the police also question experts. In a property offence, the police investigate how much and what kind of property was stolen.

If the police find during the pre-trial investigation that no offence has been committed, the head investigator terminates the investigation. In that case, the police will not refer the matter to a prosecutor.

If the police find based on the pre-trial investigation that an offence has been committed, the police deliver the documents of the pre-trial investigation to the prosecutor for consideration of charges.

Based on the pre-trial investigation, the prosecutor can bring charges for the offence, in which case the matter will be heard by a district court. The prosecutor can also decide not to bring charges, for example when there is not enough evidence of the offence or the act is minor. In this case, the prosecutor makes a decision not to prosecute.

Some offences are complainant offences. The prosecutor can only bring charges for them if the injured party demands punishment for the suspect. Complainant offences include disturbance of domestic peace and defamation.

However, most offences are subject to public prosecution. This means that the police can investigate the offence and the prosecutor can bring charges even if the injured party does not demand punishment for the suspect.

Victim Support FinlandOpens in a new window. offers support and advice for those who have been a victim of a crime, their loved ones and witnesses of criminal cases. Victim Support Finland can help you report an offence and explain the steps of the legal process in more detail, for example.