Finnish border guards
The Finnish Border Guard ( Finnish : Rajavartiolaitos , Swedish : Gränsbevakningsväsendet ) is the Finnish security authority for securing the external borders. It is a military organization administratively subordinate to the Ministry of the Interior . She is also subordinate to the President of Finland in his role as Commander-in-Chief .
The border guard consists of 3,600 men, including 500 conscripts who are not used to control the borders in times of peace. In the event of mobilization, the border guards would be fully or partially integrated into the Finnish armed forces . By hiring reservists , he would grow to around 23,000 men in this case. The Finnish border guard has been headed by Lieutenant General Jaakko Kaukanen since 2008 , his deputy is the former head of Frontex , Major General Ilkka Laitinen .
tasks
The main tasks of border guards are guarding Finland's borders by land and water, as well as passport control at ports, airports and border crossings. In addition, rescue operations are one of his tasks in peacetime. Furthermore, the border guard investigates crimes that affect border security. He also takes over the duties of the customs authorities at small border crossings . As a military association, the border guard trains recruits for military service. In the event of war, the border guards are assigned long-range patrols and the use of guerrilla tactics .
The border guards have limited police powers to fulfill their duties . Border guards can arrest people and carry out searches. However, the right to arrest is reserved for officers in command of a unit or their deputies. Border guards are not designed to maintain public order in peacetime. Nevertheless, he has rapid reaction forces that are deployed to support the police in exceptional circumstances .
organization
The Finnish border guard is divided into the headquarters in Helsinki, to which the following organizational units are subordinate:
- Border Guard and Coast Guard Academy
- two coast guard units (Gulf of Finland and Western Finland)
- four border guards (Southeast Finland, North Karelia, Kainuu and Lapland)
- Air monitoring group
equipment
The border guard operates seven ocean-going vessels, seven hovercrafts and 81 coastal boats as well as two aircraft and eleven helicopters . The HK G36 acts as armament .
history
In 1919, after the Finnish Civil War , supervision of the country's borders was transferred to the Border Guard. Even then, the border guard was under the Ministry of the Interior. Until 1945 only the border with Russia was monitored by border guards. Only customs was responsible for the borders with Sweden and Norway . In 1929, a sea watch was created to curb the alcohol smuggling that had been triggered by the Finnish prohibition policy .
Border guards participated in both the Winter War and the Continuation War. They played an important role in the particularly inaccessible regions of northern Finland.
Today's tasks
After the Second World War , border guards were set up at all Finnish external borders. The sea guard was subordinated to the border guards. Since then, border protection has enjoyed a very high reputation. It is famous for its members' ability to deal with the wilderness and its efficiency in apprehending the few illegal cross-border commuters. In addition, it is often the only government agency that can be reached quickly in many parts of the province of Lapland . In these respects the image of border guards in Finland is comparable to the Canadian Royal Canadian Mounted Police .
Each border guard district trains a small number of conscripts for long-range patrols. These units roughly correspond to the tele scouts of the Bundeswehr . The majority of those serving in these units are volunteers; residents of the border areas are preferred. During their training, these soldiers do not actually perform any border controls.
Employment at the border guard is usually sought after. There are around 50 applicants for one position.
