Police in Turku on Tuesday suspended plans to issue fines to street beggars, following negative reaction to press reports.
The police did not manage to issue any fines before the change in policy and new guidelines were given to personnel.
YLE reported earlier in the day that police in Turku intended to start fining street beggars and seizing the money they have collected from by-passers. Police had issued guidelines saying that beggars would be given fines of just less than 50 euros.
After the guidelines were given in Turku, it was found that they were in conflict with an interpretation of the law given to police in Helsinki by Assistant State Prosecutor Jorma Kalske. He said the law on money collection is not applicable to street begging and thus should not be used for issuing fines.
The Immigration Police in Helsinki have taken the position that passive begging in a public place by setting out a hat or extending a hand cannot be seen as a criminal offence and hence is not subject to a fine. A beggar must in some way cause a disturbance before his or her actions constitute an offence.
In Vaasa, police have had to take under consideration if sitting and begging in front of a shop door is an activity that causes harm in private areas, for example by hindering shopkeepers' trade.
In recent weeks an influx of beggars and street vendors, many of them from Romania, have appeared in Helsinki and other cities.
