📋 Tender Overview
The Government proposes that only a prisoner in prison for the first time may be granted parole once he has served a shorter part of his sentence than that prescribed by law. Thus, the convicted person's so-called first-time offender would no longer be restored after a certain crime-free period.
The conditional release system will be modified so that it is generally acceptable and understandable, credible and fair. Recidivism must have a more consistent impact on the length of the sentence served in prison. The change means that the penal system will become more stringent. After the amendment, Finnish legislation would also better correspond to the legislation of other countries, as it is not known that in any other country a prisoner could be a first-time offender more than once," says Minister of Justice Leena Meri.
Conditional release means allowing a prisoner to serve the remainder of his sentence in freedom. According to the proposal, a person sentenced to a fixed-term prison sentence who has previously been in prison can only be granted parole after serving two-thirds of his sentence. This would be the case regardless of the length of time that had elapsed since the previous prison sentence was served. The amendment would also apply to persons sentenced to supervision instead of unconditional imprisonment.
The amendment would affect offenders who repeat an offence leading to imprisonment or supervision more than five years after they have been released from a previous prison sentence. For young people, the amendment would target repeat offenders aged 18 to 20 whose previous prison sentence has exceeded three years. Thus, more repeat offenders would serve their prison sentence in prison for a longer period of time.
The Act is expected to enter into force at the beginning of 2025. The new regulation would apply to offences committed after the entry into force of the Act.
Tightening up the conditional release system is included in Prime Minister Petteri Orpo's Government Programme.
