Alcohol almost always involved in violent assaults - disagreement on role of racism

Juha Rautaheimo

Juha Hernesniemi

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Alcohol is involved in nearly all assaults and batteries that take place in Helsinki, says Juha Rautaheimo of the violent crimes unit of the Helsinki Police Department.
      He says that violence has neither increased in Helsinki, nor has it become more brutal. This may seem surprising, as there have been headlines in recent times about an increase in the brutality of violent assaults.
      “Beatings by professional criminals are a different matter. For instance, beatings linked with the collection of drug debts are very brutal, and can even lead to death. But generally speaking, violent crimes have not become more serious.”
     
With his experience with the Helsinki Police dating back to 1975, Rautaheimo might be expected to have some perspective in the matter.
      The same might be said of chief neurosurgeon Juha Hernesniemi, who has worked at Helsinki’s Töölö Hospital since 1973.
      Hernesniemi read an article in Helsingin Sanomat on August 5th, which reported that summer assaults had increased by 15 per cent in Stockholm, compared with previous years. In Helsinki, the number of assaults had stayed the same.
     
Commenting on the news in a letter, Hernesniemi expressed concern about an increased level of brutality in violent crimes. “If the figures for Helsinki have not increased, then brutality certainly has. Whereas previously it was said that a person was ‘beaten and hospitalised”, now the expression is “beaten and kicked and taken to intensive care’.”
      “Especially foreigners, young tourists of colour, and immigrants have had bad experiences. They have been beaten and kicked, resulting in about half a dozen serious cerebral contusions within a month, and permanent disability”, Hernesniemi writes.
     
"A typical brain injury for a Finnish man is caused by falling down while intoxicated. Injuries suffered by foreigners result from being attacked”,
      Hernesniemi elaborates
      “There are people there of an immigrant background, and for instance, one young Mexican student who was in Helsinki as a tourist. He was unconscious for weeks, and he has a permanent brain injury”, Hernesniemi says.
     
Hernesniemi teaches about 150 foreign students a year. He has been happy to promote Helsinki as a safe city for foreigners. Now he wonders if this is still really the case.
      “Helsinki has been considered Europe’s safest capital. Has the community started to attack immigrants and those with a different skin colour? Have recent speeches by politicians, taking a critical view of immigration, given licence to kick foreigners?” Hernesniemi asks.
      “Right now there is a family from a far-away country in the next room gathered around a victim and crying. This is terrible to look at.”
     
The hospital always reports beatings to the police.
      Rautaheimo says that he does not see the cases which Hernesnemi suspects have a racist motive in the police statistics.
      After examining all of the 27 aggravated assaults that took place in June and July, he concludes that none of the crimes were racially-motivated.
      “The two sides can be a foreigner and a Finn, or an immigrant and a Finn, without the assault being racist. It can stem from something as trivial as a dispute over a spot in a queue”, Rautaheimo observes.
     
The motivation of an attack needs to be linked exclusively with the victim’s skin colour before the police will see a racial motive.
      “I am not ignoring Hernesniemi’s comments at all. On the contrary, he is a very proficient doctor in his field”, Rautaheimo says.
      “Perhaps the cases have occurred somewhere other than in Helsinki, or there is some other reason why we do not see them here.”
      “In an assault, alcohol plays a big role. It is the basic set-up. Rarely is the reason for getting beaten the person’s race, religion, or other similar aspect.”


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Racist crime rarely leads to conviction in Finland (26.4.2007)
  Immigration experts face racist harassment (16.3.2010)

See also:
  Alcohol abuse most common killer of working-age Finnish men (1.11.2006)

Helsingin Sanomat