Finland

Forensic science in Finland

The national forensic laboratory belongs to the National Bureau of Investigation, a national unit under the National Police Board, and a decree charges the Bureau with the forensic examinations investigators, prosecutors and courts request. Forensic autopsy is the responsibility of the national health and welfare institute, not of the police.

Fact-checkedSafety review clearedLast updated 10 October 2026Last reviewed 10 October 2026

Facts verified: October 2026

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Finland places its national forensic laboratory inside the police. The Police Administration Act makes the National Police Board the central authority under the Ministry of the Interior, and names the National Bureau of Investigation — Keskusrikospoliisi — as one of the Board’s national units: "Poliisihallituksen alaisia valtakunnallisia yksikköjä ovat keskusrikospoliisi ja Poliisiammattikorkeakoulu".

The forensic function is the Bureau’s by decree. The Government Decree on Police Administration requires it to "suorittaa tai hankkia esitutkinta-, syyttäjä- tai oikeusviranomaisen pyytämät rikostekniset tutkimukset" — to perform or procure the forensic examinations that investigating, prosecuting or judicial authorities request — together with the forensic examinations the police and other authorities need for police investigation, statutory supervision or accident investigation, and to maintain the reference collections those examinations require. Perform or procure: the decree does not say that the Bureau performs every examination itself.

The laboratory is named in the national accreditation service’s record rather than in the decree: "KESKUSRIKOSPOLIISI RIKOSTEKNINEN LABORATORIO NATIONAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION FORENSIC LABORATORY", accredited testing laboratory T079. The scope FINAS records is under SFS-EN ISO/IEC 17025:2017, with a decision dated 18 December 2025 and an expiry date of 13 December 2028, and its headings include drugs analysis, explosives analysis and DNA analysis among others. An accreditation covers the activities its scope lists and nothing beyond them.

Forensic medicine sits outside the police. The Act on the Investigation of Cause of Death requires the police to investigate the cause of death in the cases it lists, and provides that "Terveyden ja hyvinvoinnin laitos vastaa oikeuslääketieteellisestä ruumiinavaustoiminnasta" — the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare is responsible for forensic autopsy activity. That institute is under the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health, and its own Act gives it the tasks of forensic medicine and forensic psychiatry as separately provided.

Uncertainty

What we could not establish

THE LABORATORY’S OWN PAGE WAS NOT READ. poliisi.fi answered HTTP 403 to an automated request on 2026-10-10, so the laboratory’s own account of what it examines is not described; the headings above are those of its accreditation scope.
Accreditation is described only as the national accreditation service records it, for the scope that record lists. Nothing here says anything about an examination outside that scope, or about any result.
How forensic work is divided between the Bureau and the police departments, and what the decree’s "procure" covers in practice, were not researched.
The Institute for Health and Welfare’s own page was not read (thl.fi answered HTTP 403); its responsibility for forensic autopsy rests on the two statutes.
How a defendant obtains an independent forensic examination in Finland was not researched.
Nothing on this page says anything about what a forensic technique can establish, how well it works, or whether a court may use a result.

Sources

Laki poliisin hallinnosta 110/1992 (Police Administration Act) — consolidated text
Finlex — Ministry of Justice of Finland · Legislation · link verified 2026-10-10
SCOPE: where the National Bureau of Investigation sits in the police administration. The consolidated Finnish text served by Finlex’s open-data service, in the version that incorporates Act 377/2026. Supports s 1, "Sisäministeriön alainen keskushallintoviranomainen on Poliisihallitus" (the National Police Board is the central authority under the Ministry of the Interior), and "Poliisihallituksen alaisia valtakunnallisia yksikköjä ovat keskusrikospoliisi ja Poliisiammattikorkeakoulu" (the Board’s national units are the National Bureau of Investigation and the Police University College). The Act itself says nothing about forensic examination. The version cited is pinned.
Valtioneuvoston asetus poliisin hallinnosta 158/1996 (Government Decree on Police Administration) — consolidated text
Finlex — Ministry of Justice of Finland · Legislation · link verified 2026-10-10
SCOPE: which police unit is charged with forensic examinations, and for whom. The consolidated Finnish text served by Finlex’s open-data service, in the version that incorporates Decree 454/2026. Supports s 7, that the National Bureau of Investigation must "suorittaa tai hankkia esitutkinta-, syyttäjä- tai oikeusviranomaisen pyytämät rikostekniset tutkimukset" — perform or procure the forensic examinations requested by investigating, prosecuting or judicial authorities — and the other forensic examinations the police and other authorities need for police investigation, statutory supervision or accident investigation; and that it must "hankkia ja ylläpitää rikosteknisten tutkimusten suorittamiseksi tarvittavia vertailunäytekokoelmia" (maintain the reference collections forensic examinations need). The decree names the Bureau, not a laboratory. The version cited is pinned.
Accreditation scope T079 — Keskusrikospoliisi, Rikostekninen laboratorio (National Bureau of Investigation Forensic Laboratory)
FINAS — Finnish Accreditation Service · Government publication · link verified 2026-10-10
SCOPE: the accreditation the national accreditation service records for the laboratory, and the scope that record lists — nothing about any examination outside it, and nothing about any result. The scope document, bilingual in Finnish and English. Supports that "KESKUSRIKOSPOLIISI RIKOSTEKNINEN LABORATORIO NATIONAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION FORENSIC LABORATORY" is an accredited testing laboratory, listed as "T079 Keskusrikospoliisi Rikostekninen laboratorio"; that the requirement is "SFS-EN ISO/IEC 17025:2017", with a decision dated 18.12.2025 and an expiry date of 13.12.2028; and that the scope’s headings include "Forensic testing, Drugs analysis", "Forensic testing, Explosives analysis" and "Forensic testing, DNA-analysis". A later decision produces a new scope document.
Laki kuolemansyyn selvittämisestä 459/1973 (Act on the Investigation of Cause of Death) — consolidated text
Finlex — Ministry of Justice of Finland · Legislation · link verified 2026-10-10
SCOPE: who investigates a death’s cause and which body is responsible for forensic autopsy — nothing about any procedure or case. The consolidated Finnish text served by Finlex’s open-data service, in the version that incorporates Act 356/2022. Supports s 7, "Kuolemansyyn selvittämiseksi on poliisin suoritettava tutkinta" in the cases it lists, and s 12 b, "Terveyden ja hyvinvoinnin laitos vastaa oikeuslääketieteellisestä ruumiinavaustoiminnasta" (the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare is responsible for forensic autopsy activity). The version cited is pinned.
Laki Terveyden ja hyvinvoinnin laitoksesta 668/2008 (Act on the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare) — consolidated text
Finlex — Ministry of Justice of Finland · Legislation · link verified 2026-10-10
SCOPE: where the institute responsible for forensic autopsy sits, and its forensic-medicine task. The consolidated Finnish text served by Finlex’s open-data service, in the version that incorporates Act 1163/2025. Supports s 1, "Laitos on sosiaali- ja terveysministeriön alainen" (it is under the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health), and s 2, among its tasks, to "huolehtia oikeuslääketieteeseen ja oikeuspsykiatriaan kuuluvista tehtävistä siten kuin niistä erikseen säädetään" (forensic medicine and forensic psychiatry, as separately provided). The version cited is pinned.