The majority of residents feel that the city and their residential area are mostly safe. A clear majority, about 70 percent of residents, feel safe in their own residential area even on weekends.
However, the feeling of safety has taken a hit in recent years, even if this sense of deterioration had evened out in the most recent barometer. As a rule, women feel less safe than men both in their residential area and in the city centre. More women consider the city centre unsafe for them at night than safe. This gap between the experiences of different population groups has widened.
This information is revealed by the biannual Helsinki Barometer, which is carried out by the city. The most recent data for the barometer was collected at the end of 2024.
Experience of social position linked to sense of safety
Disadvantages have concentrated in Helsinki. Area disparity also reflects in the sense of safety. In residential areas with people who perform better on socio-economic indicators, there are clearly more people who feel safe in the evening than in weaker areas.
Personal experience of social status – disadvantaged or affluent – is linked to the sense of safety. Residents who consider themselves in a good socio-economic position also feel safer in areas where disadvantages have concentrated. Those who consider themselves to be disadvantaged, on the other hand, feel just as safe as everyone else if they happen to live in a socio-economically better area.
Residents worry over inequality
According to the barometer survey, seven out of ten people in Helsinki are concerned about inequality between residential areas. More than half of the population is concerned about disorderly behaviour. In the open answers to the survey, safety was a topic that was often brought up along with these issues.
Every six months, adults residents are asked about safety in the Helsinki Barometer as well as through a safety survey that collects a wider scope of safety experiences, which is carried out every three years. The results of Helsinki’s latest safety survey will be published later this year.
