Border checks aim to prevent illegal immi-gration. The aim is to have both passengers and cargo moving as smoothly as possible. A Russian citizen coming into Finland or elsewhere in the Schengen area is required to have a visa with his or her fingerprints. Checking these visas slows down the bor-der check in Finland by 30 to 40 per cent. In practice, this means that while the traffic over the border has decreased, the amount of work remains almost unchanged. – After the terrorist attacks, there have been plans to make the border checks stricter. Even the time used for the border checks of EU citizens could double. Until now, EU citizens have usually been sub-jected to a minimum check only. About five years ago, automatic border checks were tested in Vaalimaa, but not enough people used the automated system. Among his other duties, Colonel Ismo Kurki cooperates with the Russian Border Service. As the border delegate for the Southeast Finland Region, he is in close contact with his colleague in Vyborg. The delegates and their deputies meet 15 to 20 times a year, their discussions touching on the smoothness of the border traffic and the condition of the border, for example. The assistants of the border delegates per-form joint risk analyses at border crossing points and on the overland border. – Our objective is to keep our common border as peaceful as possible. The meet-ings themselves are formal and substance-oriented. Afterwards, we go to a sauna and have an unofficial discussion over dinner. During our last meeting, for example, we took an interest in the border patrol dog championships of the SEFBG. Objective to find new savings According to Ismo Kurki, the financial down-sizing programme for the FBG, launched in 2013, has hardly had any effect on the op-erations of the SEFBG. Comprehensive con-trol of the overland border was retained, and the border crossings remained secure and smooth. According to the commander, bor-der security was not reduced. The savings measures will not end with the end of the downsizing programme next year. A second downsizing programme is already being planned. There is currently an analysis taking place concerning whether the Imatra and Niirala border check sta-tions should be closed for the night. At the moment, they are open 24 hours a day. Finns go to Russia to fuel up, even in the night time. – In order to make a decision, we are analysing who are moving at night, and how the closing of the border check sta-tions would affect them. We are unable to make this decision on the national level; it must also be negotiated with Russia. At a hearing event held in August in Immola, Imatra, the municipalities, the regional council, and commerce and indus-try were all unequivocally against limiting the opening hours of the Imatra border crossing point. Cargo traffic is also busy in Imatra during the night. – All those from whom we heard stated that society would incur significantly more additional costs from limiting the opening hours than the savings it would achieve. The parties heard were of the opinion that the Finnish Border Guard should be granted the funding it requires. – We are also analysing the possibility of having more flexible work shifts. Bor-der guards have traditionally worked eight hour shifts. If we take the traffic volumes into consideration, more personnel are required in busy hours than in quiet hours. The working time experiment begins during the autumn, after which we will decide on how to continue. The SEFBG is the largest administrative unit in the FBG. A quarter of FBG personnel work there. New border guards will con-tinue to be trained for the eastern border to replace the retirees. – We are now examining the develop-ment of the structure of the Headquarters, and concentrating the HR administration into the FBG's administration. Today, the travel service works in a centralised man-ner, for instance. Old, dilapidated real estate pose a prob-lem for the SEFBG. In Immola, for example, where the Headquarters are also located, several buildings need to be renovated, some even demolished. The Nuijamaa and Pelkola border guard stations are also in poor condition. A new border check station is required in Vainik-kala, and the premises of the temporary border crossing point in Parikkala are in bad condition. The men joke about the bor-der guard going to the dogs. – Border stations see heavy use around the clock, so they wear down three times as fast as regular offices. Another problem is that everything would need to be done now instead of later. Patrolling the external border In addition to border checks, the SEFBG's duties include border control and crime prevention. The focus of crime prevention is to combat the arrangement of illegal en-try. The border guard is responsible for a 200 kilometre stretch of border, 32 km of which is under technical surveillance, while the rest is handled by patrols and movable cameras. The duty of the patrols is to maintain a constant situational awareness. Anticipa-tion is challenging. One border patrol comprises two to four border guards and a border patrol dog. In summertime, they move by foot and on ATVs, in winter time on snowmobiles and skis. If necessary, the helicopters of the Air Patrol Squadron patrol the eastern border from Helsinki. – We control and secure the border zone. We maintain security and public order at borders through border control. We prevent and investigate illegal border crossings. If someone is approaching the border, we go and see what it is about. In 2015, eleven people and two vessels crossed the border illegally in the SEFBG's region. In 2014, there were nine crossings, as in the year before that. By the end of July this year, there have been four illegal crossings. 62 RAJAMME VARTIJAT
Rajamme Vartijat 3-2016
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