Finland inches towards granting wider access to biometric data to police

The Finish government is looking to expand the use of biometric data collected for passports and ID cards, including facial images and fingerprints, by giving access to it to the country’s law enforcement agencies. The proposal was originally launched in 2023 with the Ministry of Interior currently soliciting public feedback.

According to the draft regulation, biometric data held by the police and the Finnish Immigration Service (Migri) could be used to prevent significant danger to life, health or freedom and investigate serious crimes – including homicide, violence and sexual offenses. The registers contain information on approximately four million people.

Police could use individual pieces of data to establish identity if a person cannot be reliably identified by any other means. The biometric data could also be shared with other law enforcement agencies, such as the Finnish Security Intelligence Service and the Finnish Defence Forces as well as the Schengen Information System (SIS), the largest information-sharing system for security and border management in Europe.

The deadline for submitting comments is March 17th, 2025. The bill is expected to be submitted to Parliament in August.

The Finish police have been lobbying for broader access to biometric data for years without much success. Last year, however, Finland has been witnessing an increase in serious violent crime, according to data published by the National Police Board in January. Many of the crimes involve minors and drugs while nearly half of them took place in public places such as city centers, public broadcaster Yle reports.

The Ministry says that the changes would not extend the right of the police to collect data and that precise provisions will be added to the regulations detailing procedures and conditions for biometric data access.

The biometric data would only be used if a person cannot be identified by any other means and to investigate predefined serious offenses. A public official from a law enforcement or intelligence agency would have to make a request to the National Bureau of Investigation, which would evaluate the legality of the request and whether it complies with the conditions for using biometric data.

Article Topics

biometric data  |  biometric identifiers  |  biometrics  |  criminal ID  |  data sharing  |  Finland  |  law enforcement  |  legislation