Authorities' right of data acquisition
Submission of Data to Courts and Certain Authorities
Data can be submitted to courts for the determination of penal sanctions or the establishment or assessment of a person's trustworthiness or personal aptitude. The matter for the deliberation of which the extract from the criminal records is to be printed out must be pending in court.
To the public prosecutor, data are submitted for the raising of charges, the consideration of charges or the deliberation of a matter of coercive means. The arrest and imprisonment of a person are matters of coercive means.
Data are submitted to the Criminal Sanctions Agency, the Probation Service and the Prison Service for the enforcement of sentences and making aptitude analyses. Data from the criminal records are most frequently needed for the enforcement of imprisonment. Aptitude analyses are made for community service penalties.
To an official of the Ministry of Justice dealing with matters of pardon, data from the criminal records are submitted for the presentation of a matter of pardon. Matters of pardon are decided by the President of the Republic.
The Chancellor of Justice of the Council of State and the Parliamentary Ombudsman have the right to acquire information for the supervision of the enforcement of a law.
Pretrial investigation authorities such as the Police have the right to acquire information for matters of coercive means.
Submission of Data to Administrative Authorities
In addition to what has been presented above, data from the criminal records are submitted to Finnish authorities in the following groups of matters. The data are used for the establishment and assessment of a person's trustworthiness and personal aptitude.
- matters under the Passport, Nationality and Alien Affairs Acts
Data are submitted to the Police and the Office for Alien Affairs.
Data are submitted extensively for the deliberation of licence matters when a person's trustworthiness is a prerequisite for granting a licence. The police or the provincial government is often the approving authority, but licence matters are also dealt with by a number of other authorities. The following list exemplifies the groups of matters in regard to which data are submitted:
- licences for carrying firearms
- licences regarding explosive substances
- transport of dangerous goods
- private security services, guarding branch
- operating permits
Other licences for carrying on a trade or fields of activity for which data can be submitted: private detective, pawnbroker's, real estate agency, collection, bingo, insurance agent, right to dispense alcohol, investment service, credit institution, inspection of motor vehicles, driving school, official translator, and management of a railway company.
Security Investigations
Data from the criminal records can be submitted to the security police or the local police for carrying out security investigations. The local police can make a limited security investigation. Besides, the security police make basic and extensive security investigations. For security investigations, the Legal Register Centre also submits data from the court decision system and the business prohibition register.
Submission of Data for the Selection of Persons to Training or for Jobs
Data from the criminal records can be submitted to some state authorities when they select persons to training or e.g. for state offices.
Data are submitted i.e. for:
- admission into Police College
- nomination for the office of a policeman/-woman
- nomination for an office in foreign service
- nomination for an office in judicial administration
- for a post in connection with central bank activities
- data on all those participating in conscription and conscripts are submitted to the Defence Forces
- register data available from the Police are also used by the Defence Forces for aptitude analyses.
Security Control
Register data can be submitted to the proper authorities for security control regarding air traffic and the use of nuclear energy. Security reports of employees in those fields are often made by the police. Data from the criminal records can be submitted even on others than those with an employee status.
Transfer of Guardianship
Data from the criminal records can be submitted to social welfare authorities for the deliberation of a matter of a child being taken into custody. Data can be submitted on the persons from whom the child is about to be taken. Besides, data can be submitted on the persons with whom the child is to be placed.
The Right of the Ministry of Justice to Decide on the Submission of Data from the Criminal Records
Exceptionally, for weighty reasons, the Ministry of Justice can decide that, even in some other case, data are submitted for the establishment and assessment of a person's trustworthiness.
Updated 16.11.2011
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