Police to review fines slapped at Uusimaa border

The police will review the fines issued at the Uusimaa border during the travel restriction imposed from 28 March to 15 April, said the National Police Board in a press release.

The travel restriction was imposed in the region following an increase of coronavirus outbreak significantly faster than in the rest of the country.

The law enforcing agency will contact the fine recipients and the prosecutor.

The police acted within its powers when serving notice of the fines, which the prosecutor considers independently.

Earlier, the parliamentary ombudsman in a decision on 8 May found that the police should not have issued fines in cases where the driver did not actually cross the regional border of Uusimaa.

In the view of the National Police Board, clarifying the detected errors is important so as to ensure that the legal rights of citizens have not been infringed.

“The National Police Board has today sent a letter to the police units, instructing the police departments to review the decisions made in connection with the monitoring of restrictions imposed on the movement of people into and out of the Uusimaa region and to ensure that any errors will be rectified. Where errors are detected, the cases have to be transferred for consideration to the prosecutor. The police departments have been asked to contact the Prosecutor General, who will act as the contact person in matters requiring cooperation between the prosecutor and the police,” said National Police Board Chief Superintendent Janne Paavola.

The police monitored traffic at the border of Uusimaa from 28 March to 15 April 2020. During that period, when movement restrictions were in force at the Uusimaa border, the police checked 549,450 drivers, 4,383 of whom were turned back as they did not have a valid reason for crossing the border. The police issued 117 fines and 159 cautions.