There are five different official mechanisms that you can use to complain about ethnic profiling. You can only file a complaint using one complaint mechanism at a time (i.e. a complaint about a particular incident cannot be lodged with multiple complaint mechanisms at the same time). All of the complaint mechanisms are available to both citizens and non-citizens in Finland.
1. Complaining to the Non-Discrimination ombudsman
The Non-Discrimination Ombudsman is an autonomous and independent authority that promotes equality and addresses cases of discrimination.
The ombudsman can ask official representatives to address cases where discrimination is suspected. Usually officials will claim their staff have not discriminated, and the case will be closed. While this can feel frustrating, in the long run reporting cases of ethnic profiling can make a difference by proving the existence of the phenomenon. The Non-Discrimination Ombudsman can also assist with filing a complaint to the Non-Discrimination and Equality Tribunal, a more powerful body.
You do not need a lawyer or legal expertise to file a claim.
More information on how to file a complaint with the Ombudsman here.
2. Complaining to the Non-Discrimination and Equality Tribunal
The tribunal can investigate if the action of an official, for example a police officer, constitutes a breach of the The Non-discrimination Act. The tribunal can also investigate actions of private entrepreneurs, for example security guards.
According to the Act, nobody may be treated less favorably than others on the basis of, for example, ethnic or national origin, nationality, language or personality characteristics, such as appearance.
The tribunal is the only complaint mechanism that can prohibit continued or repeated discrimination or victimisation. It can impose a conditional fine to enforce compliance with its injunctions, and order payment of such a fine to the state. However, the tribunal may not order any compensation to be paid to the victims of discrimination.
You will need the help of a lawyer or the Non-Discrimination Ombudsman to file a complaint at the tribunal.
More information on the tribunal and how to file a complaint here.
3. Reporting a discrimination offence to the police
It is a criminal offence to place someone in a clearly unequal or otherwise essentially inferior position within the exercise of official authority, owing to, for example, their race, national or ethnic origin, skin colour or language. Discrimination is punishable by a fine or a maximum of six months imprisonment.
If a police officer stops a person (primarily or only) due to these characteristics, this could be considered illegal discrimination. Suspected offences committed by police officers need to be reported to the police, but they are investigated by the Office of the Prosecutor General.
However, you will need sound proof that the primary or only reason for this treatment is your ethnicity, skin colour, language or other personal characteristic.
In a prominent recent case from the summer of 2016 concerning immigration controls exercised on the mother and sister of the black Finnish rapper Musta Barbaari, the Prosecutor General decided not to press charges and declared the police had a rightful basis to stop the women and ask them for identification. The Stopped project is looking into the case to understand the reasoning of the Prosecutor General.
You do not need a lawyer or legal expertise to report an offence.
More information on reporting offences here.
4. Complaining to the Parliamentary Ombudsman or the Chancellor of Justice of the Government
The Chancellor of Justice of the Government and the Parliamentary Ombudsman are called the supreme guardians of law. You can complain to the supreme guardians of the law if you feel that an official, for example a police officer, has not observed the law or fulfilled a duty, or if you suspect that fundamental and human rights have not been appropriately implemented. The Ombudsman and the Chancellor of Justice treat the complaints in the same way. You can only complain about one case to one of the two, the Parliamentary Ombudsman or the Chancellor of Justice.
You do not need a lawyer or legal expertise to file a claim.
More information on complaints to the Parliamentary Ombudsman here and to the Chancellor of Justice here.
5. Lodging an administrative complaint with the police
You can file an administrative complaint with the police if you feel the police have acted unlawfully. The administrative complaint is investigated within the police organisation, not by an independent body. Possible sanctions are lighter than in the other complaint mechanisms.
You do not need a lawyer or legal expertise to file a claim.