Finland has pledged to meet the European-wide target under which the number of road deaths should be reduced and other road safety improvements achieved. The strategic steering of police traffic control should be enhanced so that the targets set for traffic control can be met. There has been a reduction in national steering and coordination over the past five years, and fewer road safety measures are also drafted in central government.
Police traffic control is part of the road safety work, which is jointly carried out by a number of different actors. The aim of the audit conducted by the NAOF was to determine whether police traffic control has been planned and organised so that it can meet its performance targets.
Since 2014, numerous changes have been made to the organisation of police traffic control and to the allocation of traffic control resources. The person-year total allocated to police traffic control declined from 592 to 492 person-years between 2012 and 2018.
It was noted in the audit that fewer road safety measures are now drafted in different parts of central government. This is because the strategic priorities have shifted to more acute and visible security threats. There has also been a weakening of national steering and coordination in police traffic control over the past five years.
The National Audit Office recommends that the Ministry of the Interior should enhance the strategic steering and performance guidance of traffic control and road safety and assess the need for the development of traffic control and the effectiveness of the activities.
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