Attempted Homicides in Finland Reach Highest Level of the 2000s

In January–June, Finnish authorities became aware of a total of 48 homicides, which is four more than during the same period last year. Last year as well, the number of homicides increased compared to previous years.

In Finland, as many as 48 homicides were committed in the first half of this year. This is the highest number recorded for the first half of a year since 2014.

The change in the number of homicides has been rapid, as in 2023 the total was only 57. Last year, the number rose to 89, and this year—if the pace of the first half continues—it could approach one hundred.

Whether one hundred homicides is a lot or a little is not a straightforward question. One only needs to look back one generation, to the 1990s, when an average of about 140 homicides were committed annually—nearly half more than in the first half of this year.

On the other hand, there has also been an increase in attempted homicides in the first half of the year, with as many as 209 cases reported to the police during the first six months. This means that the number of attempted homicides in Finland was the highest in the entire 2000s.

Naturally, one might wonder whether something unusual lies behind the rise in homicides. So, I ran a Google search with the word “murhasi” (meaning “murdered”) to find a few random cases to examine.

In the first case, a 60-year-old man—apparently of Roma background based on his name—was reported to have been convicted in court of murdering his partner with a knife. In the second case, a 30-year-old man is suspected of murdering his mother, also with a bladed weapon. In the third case, a man in his thirties killed his parents, both over 70, with a pocketknife when they came to his apartment.

Based on these examples, the use of knives continues to be a recurring feature in Finnish homicides, meaning that in this sense nothing particularly unusual has occurred. Thus, at least for now, the share of immigrants in Finnish homicides is not emphasized in the same way as, for example, in Sweden, where by 2017 their share had already risen to 72 percent.

Previous thoughts on the same topic:
A Sudanese Man Killed His Wife – So What?
The Finnish Stabber Has a Long Track Record of Violence
The root causes of racist violence

The root causes of racist violence

In the editorial of the Finnish afternoon newspaper Ilta-Sanomat, the stance of President Alexander Stubb and Petteri Orpo's (National Coalition Party) government was discussed, which stated that Finland's greatest challenge is Russia and its grandiose president Vladimir Putin. This is especially true if his army were to succeed in winning in Ukraine.

There is nothing special about bringing up this topic as the subject of the editorial, since the threat from Russia is well known. What was more surprising, however, was that the editorial writer moved on to the problems related to immigrants from developing countries at the end of the text.

The text went exactly as follows: "An even greater threat feeding citizens' sense of insecurity is brewing in racist violence, social exclusion, and growing gang violence. The stabbings that occurred in a shopping center in Oulu should wake up decision-makers – even without reports."

Highlighting the two native perpetrators of the stabbings in the Oulu shopping center suggests that, in the editorial writer's opinion, the problem lies particularly with the racist crimes committed by native people against immigrants. On the other hand, it is probably well known that, according to statistics, Iraqis and Somalis living in our country commit crimes against life and health more than three times as often as Finns, relative to their age and number.

Indeed, their contribution to assaults has an even slightly greater overrepresentation. And sexual crimes much more commonly – Iraqis with even over 12 times the likelihood compared to the native population. Nor is their overrepresentation in violent and drug-dealing youth groups and gangs unknown.

Therefore, I consider it likely that the racism directed towards immigrants by the majority population has not arisen out of nowhere but, as the old Finnish saying goes, "so the forest answers as you call into it." This is not a defense speech for the Finns guilty of violence – for they have shown by their actions to be on the level of the worst idiots from the developing countries – but a remark on the actual state of affairs.

Therefore, the editor-in-chief of Ilta-Sanomat should also present the entire issue comprehensively, taking into account all the factors influencing the whole situation.

Previous thoughts on the same topic:
Immigration issue
Will the multinational force led by Kenyans help?
An immigrant who stands out from the average has been taken into custody