The institute maintains and develops national systems for monitoring total crime, national victim surveys (since 1980), youth delinquency surveys (since 1995) and the system for monitoring crimes against life (since 2000). The national crime victim survey covers a general follow-up of victims of crime according to various thematic areas, such as relationship violence, Finn’s views on crime prevention and crime from a regional perspective.
The work of developing crime indicators is based on methodological research and international cooperation. Our indicators provide an overview of the security of Finns and at the same time constitute material for basic research.
Research on the causes and risk factors of crime is the core of basic criminological research at the institute. The research focuses on the core issue in social sciences area of criminology, the importance of social and structural factors, and considers the connection between individual factors and the risk of starting a criminal path.
In addition to research on the causes of crime, we also research the consequences of crime: the connection between punishment and recidivism and the consequences of crime for the perpetrators, the victims and society. In terms of social and cultural consequences, the focus is on fears, experiences of security, and perceptions of crime.
The Legal Policy Research area studies the relationship between the individual and the legal system, focusing on three key areas of research:
Legislative research explores legislative drafting, including consultation practices and ex-ante impact assessment, as well as ex-post evaluations of legislation.
Debt research focuses on causes and consequences of debt and indebtedness, identifies the populations facing debt problems and examines the regulation of consumer debt and its impacts.
Access to Justice research utilizes legal needs surveys as well as other methods to study citizens' legal problems, barriers to justice, and the complexity of the legal system.