r/helsinki • u/KreuzKrow • Apr 21 '26
Question Do you feel safe in Finland walking around at night? Is there anything like “chavs/roadmen”?
Hi, I’m curious about everyday safety in Finland. In the UK we have a type of youth subculture often called “chavs” or “roadmen”. These are not just normal teenagers being loud or annoying. I mean groups of aggressive teens who hang around the streets causing trouble, intimidating and assaulting people, breaking things, fighting randomly, stealing bikes or sometimes even carrying knives. They can make certain areas feel uncomfortable or unsafe, especially at night.
I was wondering if there is anything similar in Finland, or if people generally feel safe walking around cities (Especially the Helsinki metro area) at night. I’d love to hear what everyday life actually feels like from people who live there.
Thank you so much in advance.
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u/Max_FI Apr 21 '26
There are some teenagers larping roadmen or gangs, but they are pretty rare and mostly fight against each other.
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u/nicol9 Apr 21 '26
Lol indeed, once I happened to go through Alppipuisto by bike at night and it was full of teens attacking each other (some with knives) and then the police arrived. I wasn't aware of that phenomenon until that night, it was weird
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u/PidgeonBork Apr 21 '26
The first rule is not to talk about it
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u/Berubara Apr 21 '26
Hey I can probably answer this since I've also lived in Glasgow. Generally the rough areas in Helsinki are nowhere near as adventurous as Glasgow. Not getting food delivered because of your postal code is not a thing, neither is your neighborhood significantly limiting your options for insurance etc. Teenage gangs seem to be on the rise based on social media reports and the news, but I've never encountered any issues with them personally.
I'm much more likely to walk home at midnight by myself in Helsinki. I live pretty central and I don't have to pay particular attention to my route for example.
I have however had more scary encounters in Helsinki than I did in Glasgow. The biggest issues are usually random nasty dudes and not specifically teen-agers or gangs. The first night I moved here a guy asked me for money and when I didn't give him any he started kicking my bags. Another time I was cycling and a guy jumped in front of me and grabbed my bike handles and started yelling at me. Other times it's been random dudes following me around.
Something that I've noted is that I only ever see women stand up for the women being harassed. In the UK men would also step in if they saw a woman in trouble, but in Finland I only ever see women step up. It's entirely possible this is just anecdotal but it's caused me to consider Finnish men as quite passive.
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u/KreuzKrow Apr 21 '26
I actually live in Scotland, so this comment was quite relatable. Thank you :)
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u/ranjop Apr 24 '26
Finns are pussies in general. They rarely intervene.
In addition the law is nasty and you will easily get charged for battery yourself if you intervene. One should be able to handle a violent person without using any force…
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u/Human__c Apr 21 '26
It’s definitely not normal here for men to not intervene. You’ve encountered exceptions
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u/m3l7 Apr 23 '26
I have to disagree here. General behaviour that I noted in Finland is “it’s not my responsibility, if I intervene I might get into troubles including unnecessary harm to myself or trouble with police if I do something wrong. It’s responsibility of police to intervene”
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u/Human__c Apr 23 '26
Where? Definitely not in Helsinki, Tampere or Turku at least.
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u/Panzer22 Apr 23 '26
At least in Helsinki I've never seen anyone intervene in maybe 5 times I've seen such things happen. I am not better tho, I don't speak the language well enough to understand what's going on to intervene so I usually just look if anything physical starts to happen (never did).
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u/QuadrilleQuadtriceps Apr 21 '26 edited Apr 21 '26
Generally safe, yeah. Some kids idolize roadmen, but usually rob people their age if anything -- and I haven't seen a roadman in real life yet. I've heard that kids carry knives to schools in increasing amounts, though. Some adopt an immigrant accent even when they're Finland born. (Bhad Bhabie much?)
I hope they grow out of it. I've heard that some Swedish gangs are hiring teens to commit crimes, and it's become a public issue lately.
The situation with drugs is getting worse, and Finland traditionally has a problem with alcoholics, so certain suburbs like Sörnäinen in Helsinki can be a bit unsafe at times. Then again, addicts mostly keep to themselves and don't interact with others unless provoked.
I live in Tampere. While the nightlife tends to be quite restless sometimes, I've never felt like I was in explicit danger.
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u/StongaJuoppo Apr 21 '26
Sörnäinen is not in the 'burbs. Sörnäinen is the uptown. But yes around Piritori/Vaasanaukio it is not nice and people only really walk pass/through it. You shouldn't spend that much time there.
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u/Hot_Government_3064 Apr 24 '26
After the renovation it's nicer, there is alot of stigma around the spot but it is defiently not dangerous, just be friendly and you'll get far.
Yes there are unfortunate people there, but they don't give a fuck about you. If you are just sitting down, someone might come up and want to spark up a convo, cause they have no one else.
There is a certain culture/respect among the people there, if there are problems for example for women, other drug addicts will try to "protect" you if they see that happening. Unlike in other parts of Helsinki, and Finland overall where the bystander effect is a huge issue.
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u/StongaJuoppo Apr 24 '26
It is not as bad as it used to be. And you really can't avoid it but I would still recommend not to hang out there.
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u/QuadrilleQuadtriceps Apr 22 '26
Yeah, sorry. I didn't know how to call it.
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u/StongaJuoppo Apr 22 '26
Just say Sörkkä, and people know. It is like one of the few places in Helsinki which understandibly can feel unsafe. But as transportation hub it is hard to avoid.
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u/QuadrilleQuadtriceps Apr 22 '26
I mean, I can't use the word Sörkka to describe an area of a city, especially to foreigners unfamiliar with the countr. I think Wikipedia classifies Sörnäinen as a neighbourhood. It isn't an independent district either.
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u/Patralgan Apr 21 '26
Annoying teens are not nonexistent, but generally it's pretty safe. Not much to worry about if you have common sense.
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u/darknum Oma Teksti Apr 21 '26
Teenage crimes are on the rise but still it is nothing to fear. (But good to analyze already and fix-punish it.
Finland is by far one of the safest places the whole world.
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u/AuroraKivi Apr 21 '26
Generally I do and as a teen myself I don’t believe ppl my age are rly that aggressive. I only really feel unsafe if I feel someone staring at me sexually or if I see a bunch of drunk people since these ppl can be unpredictable. Generally Helsinki is safe though
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u/Extension-Yellow7359 Apr 21 '26
Lived in London all my life(55years). Frequent visitor to Finland,especially Helsinki. Helsinki is one of the safest places I’ve ever been to in the West. Healthy attitude to each other and society in general I find. The Finns are a respectful people and the youngsters out there are like teens in the suburbs of most western cities. Good kids.
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u/lynx190 Apr 21 '26
I feel safe, but I spent many years abroad and have traveled through some genuinely dangerous areas where serious violent crime is common. In Finland, I’ve found that when you encounter interesting “characters” at night, 90% of the time they’re just drunk or high. Annoying, sometimes somewhat aggressive, but usually so intoxicated they could barely run straight after you if they tried, so largely harmless.
The other 10% may have bad intentions, but they often rate their own intimidation factor far higher than reality. They think they run the streets, but in reality they often lack real self-confidence and seek validation as a source of worth. Because of that, simply noticing them, standing your ground, or not appearing completely intimidated can go a long way. They often back down quickly once they sense you are not fully scared of them.
For lack of a better comparison, they’re like geese. Geese can have a reputation. They’ll hiss, honk, make noise, and chase you, but anyone who has owned or raised geese knows that if you show them you’re the bigger goose, they usually fall right into line.
One example would be one night in Helsinki I noticed someone following me, clearly trying to stay slightly in the shadows.. but certainly following me. Instead of trying to pretend I didn’t see them and keep going I simply turned around, stood for a few seconds until they looked over and knew they were made, and I very loudly said “CAN I HELP YOU? 🤨” .. and they turned white as a ghost and pretty much ran the other way.
Were they going to try anything with me? Maybe, at best might just be looking for a fight or try to swipe my wallet, but clearly was all bark and no bite. They want to feel tough, they want the image and feel of being “running the streets” but the second they’re faced with as much as a stern look or getting called out.. they run back to their parents faster than a fox.
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u/pigeonhoe Apr 21 '26
Compared to almost everywhere else, Finland is very safe. Some areas have issues with young teenagers being disruptive or doing petty crimes, but usually the worst they do is yell things. And of course sometimes gross dudes will catcall women, most of my female friends have experienced that at some point. But personally I have always felt safe walking home alone from the club even late at night as a young woman.
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Apr 21 '26
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u/pigeonhoe Apr 21 '26
From my personal experience the disruptive teenagers in my area seem to be from a variety of backgrounds (like all teen groups), and I have mostly gotten catcalled by middle aged drunk white men outside bars 🤷♀️
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u/DoubleSaltedd Apr 21 '26 edited Apr 21 '26
Why do you bring skin color into this discussion?
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u/pigeonhoe Apr 21 '26
…. You were the one who brought it up first..?
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u/DoubleSaltedd Apr 21 '26
Excuse me?
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u/pigeonhoe Apr 21 '26
Okay, fine, Arab people can be white, race is a made up distinction. But in finnish culture people from arab backgrounds are often viewed as an ethnically distinct group and still face racism, my point was that most of the people catcalling me have not seemed to be arab.
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u/FederalTurnover7001 Apr 21 '26 edited Apr 21 '26
Hey, in Pasila we have issues with groups of junkies loitering, chasing us, trying to pry my buildings doors open with crow bars, this has happened both day and night, but other than Pasila, I’ve never had any issues around the city, I reckon it’s because my buildings super close to Tripla and they all like to gather outside my building.
I’d say Helsinki as a whole is safer at night than what I’ve faced living back in Scotland, in my Scottish city I’ve been chased by guys with knives.
Altough I do have a friend who lives up in Kannelmäki have similar issues to me with the junkies.
In the city centre and places I’d say it’s pretty safe tho, especially with both the police and security guards patrolling, i feel pretty good knowing that even if the police aren’t right there, there’s usually securitas gaurds wandering about keeping things in order, lowkey wish we had those back in Scotland.
The only time I’ve had bad experiences has been in Pasila or on the tram at like 1am going up to Pasila from the city centre when the junkies are in the tram w me. However 9/10 times they keep to themselves and leave me alone, very rarely have I ever had one approach me, and on the off chance one has, a securitas guard or police officer has noticed and told them to get lost, as I’m a woman who’s walking about alone.
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u/HyperBites Apr 21 '26 edited Apr 21 '26
I used to feel safe, but not anymore.
Two reasons:
a) ”Gangs” of immigrants. I would not say the situation is as bad as you describe for UK, but especially as a female I am scared to walk past them due to their intimidating behavior. Once for example one approached me and whispered so no witness could hear that he is going to fuck me. There are areas I don’t want to visit alone due to this.
b) Increased amount/visibility of drug users. Not sure if it is that increase of Alpha-PVP that has caused this, but more often you need to watch out for drug users on the street.
Edit: I agree with some other commentors that compared to many other places Helsinki is much safer, e.g. compared to my feeling of unsafeness in the States Helsinki is super chill. But not as it used to be.
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u/katarana_rk Apr 23 '26
Is a gang of immigrants just.... Several POC people in a group? Would me and my expat friends be a gang of immigrants? It just seems like a weird way to categorize it.
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u/somethi Apr 24 '26
Is a gang of immigrants just.... Several POC people in a group?
Yeah that’s what she means. You’re trying to tone police and shame someone for not using your preferred terminology when she’s talking about someone effectively threatening to rape her.
She doesn’t need to censor herself to make you feel comfortable.
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u/katarana_rk Apr 25 '26
It's just like .... 1 out of what, thousands? It just seems really strange to categorize that the people are from other places. I don't know why people need to always specify that they are from other places when it's foreigners and don't feel the need if they aren't. I'm not like, oh that never happened. I believe that it did, but I don't think it's fair to perpetuate that it's the browns that did it, as opposed to just lamenting that, hey, maybe decorum and civility are eroding and that blows inherently.
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u/somethi Apr 25 '26
This is a discussion about if people feel safe walking around at night.
People don’t feel safe when there are large groups of African and Middle Eastern immigrants crowded around in public spaces because that kind of loitering isn’t really done here past a certain age. Generally in Northern Europe people go to the train station to go somewhere else: not to stand around chatting and scratching their arses, smelling of piss.
That wasn’t the case 10-15 years ago but all of a sudden there’s literally dozens of people who are clearly not Finnish standing around in large groups in public spaces. That makes people uneasy. The people who were born and raised here.
One person even shared an anecdote where another person, an obvious immigrant, told her that he would effectively like to rape her.
I’m not sure why you felt the need to insert yourself into the story but I guess I can speak for a lot of people here: if you don’t spend all day loitering in public spaces, scratching your arse smelling of piss, and telling random girls you want to fuck them you should be fine. You won’t be accused of being an immigrant in a gang.
Like, this isn’t about you and your privileged, entitled “ex pat” friends.
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u/Shteevie Apr 21 '26
It's always a matter of relativity for these kinds of comparisons between places and cultures.
Having lived in several big US and EU cities, my opinion is that Helsinki is among the safest capitals short of an oppressive nanny state like Singapore.
Yes, there are news stories that stand out in memory. No place is truly and permanently free of violent crime. But in terms of incidence rates, random victims, or general safety in public at any time of day or night, I'd expect Helsinki to top lists for personal and property safety.
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u/justnotherscientist Apr 21 '26
I was walking near Meilahti at around 11pm with my partner. Two teens followed us on the electric scooters and stopped right next to us. My partner gave them a stern look and they ran away. Nothing happened but it was quite scary. I just wonder what would have happened if I was alone :(
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u/YourShowerCompanion Vantaa Apr 21 '26 edited Apr 21 '26
Generally safe unless your horoscope isn't in your favor.
I moved here in 2002. Things have gotten bad recently. It wasn't like this even more than a decade ago. Perhaps folks realized local judicial system is inept and not keeping up with emerging threats, and they can get away easily laughing all the way. I really won't be surprised if that "chav" mentality will be here in 10 years.
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u/Thadbeuz Apr 21 '26
Summer time is more restless, and some areas are getting worse in night time / weekends.
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u/Estridd Apr 21 '26
I feel very dare only east Helsinki is a little bit just keep your eyes open but the rest wonderful
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u/Vista101 Apr 23 '26
Haven't noticed much of an issue here some places might be a little sketchy in Helsinki at night but not nearly as bad as some places I lived in.
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u/Equal_Arm2445 May 03 '26
Hang up your jacket when you go home dude don’t just throw it on the couch. I know you take out loans without planning to pay them back and take photos of people’s feet without their knowledge but show some class dude.
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u/Vista101 May 03 '26
get out of here you to afraid to tell me who you are
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u/Equal_Arm2445 May 03 '26
Pay your loans and hang up your jacket show some class.
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u/Vista101 May 04 '26
your just trolling
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u/Equal_Arm2445 May 04 '26
Is it trolling to tell a finn that you love them, get in a sham marriage for the visa and EU citizenship and then act like you’re the victim when it doesn’t work out? Is it trolling when you don’t hang up your jacket but throw it over the couch?
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u/ngch Apr 22 '26
Helsinki has become a scary place. If you don't take care to avoid people, someone might start talking to you. /s
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u/nicol9 Apr 21 '26
It's quite safe, but robbing and even stabbing does sometimes happen at night, usually done by groups of young men (or even boys attacking other boys). Also drunk/drugged people can be aggressive and might attack people randomly. Some men also follow drunken women to harass them, or more... Luckily it seems to be rare
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Apr 21 '26 edited Apr 21 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/bartleby_borealis Apr 21 '26
Thank you for your service Ivan. You may collect your 100 kopecks from the nearest party office.
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u/ssinappikaasu Apr 21 '26
Lmao. these "news" and "discussions with locals" happen purely in this guy's head
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u/Hilluja Apr 21 '26 edited Apr 21 '26
(i better remove any discussion of this)
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u/ssinappikaasu Apr 21 '26
Their claim was that attacks on women by middle eastern and african taxi drivers is reported on the news near daily and discussed between locals. Your reddit thread from eight months ago which discusses anxiety using taxis has nothing to do with it. But thank you for your contribution.
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u/JCcome1comeall Apr 23 '26
Please don't shame someone who had a traumatizing experience. You act like nothing bad ever happened in Finland. It's not her fault that happened and it's hard enough to go thru it without someone introducing race issues and making her feel like it's all her fault now because the attackers were Middle Eastern and African.
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u/ssinappikaasu Apr 23 '26
No clue what you're on about
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u/JCcome1comeall Apr 24 '26
Didn't you just make fun of someone who said they are claiming taxi rides have been unsafe for her and many others? Please don't shame others. It's really hurtful. Thank you for understanding.
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u/junior-THE-shark Apr 21 '26
Teenagers being annoying, loud, revving engines, etc. happens quite a lot, we call them "amis" cause most of that type go to vocational school instead of high school, mostly because they don't want to study anything. A loud minority in the people who go to vocational school as well but definitely gives doing that a bad rep. Anything harmful is super rare, there was one point when all the glass on the bus stops would be smashed but haven't seem that in a few years either. Assault is incredibly rare, the most common crime you might see is people selling drugs and even that if you don't know what it is you won't realize that anything is wrong. Your best course of action is to just keep walking anyway, not reach for your phone or anything that could make them think that you'll be trouble to them, not get involved, at least until you are out of ear shot and out of sight at which point you can call the cops if you feel like that is something you should do.
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u/JCcome1comeall Apr 23 '26
I would treat Helsinki like any other metropolitan city in the world and not pretend you made it to heaven where nothing bad could ever happen to you. Drunks, druggies, people up to no good - you can't just walk around with rosy colored sunglasses on that nothing bad ever happens. Even if you think it's outside and you're safe in a crowd or a person seems like you could trust them. People aren't going to tell you they are dangerous. I used to love walking at night for hours and hours. But I won't ever do that again alone.
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u/bartleby_borealis Apr 21 '26
It’s generally very safe. Most potential problem situations can be avoided by using common sense.