Seems some of Finland’s government officials have looked around the EU and noticed an uptick in radical Islamic terrorism. Leaping into action nearly a year and a half after the problem began to manifest itself, the Fins have announced their plan to stem the violence. The Nordic nation says 7,000 police officers will soon receive Heckler & Koch MP-5’s to add to their kit.
The AP reports that:
Police in Finland released a third suspect Friday in a fatal stabbing attack allegedly carried out by a Moroccan asylum-seeker, a development that came hours after the Nordic country’s news agency said officers will be issued MP5 submachine guns in addition to their normal equipment.
…Investigators said he had become radicalized, but did not elaborate. He also had given a false name and age when he first was interviewed.
Investigators have said they weren’t aware of a motive for the attack in southwestern Finland, but that it appeared to target women.
A high ranking police official admitted the decision comes on the heels of increasing radical Islamic terror attacks. Of course, with stabbing and other terror attacks in the news almost daily in Finland and other European countries for over a year now, one wonders why it took so long. Hand-wringing, perhaps?
No doubt the nifty MP-5’s will help counter the threat and increase police capabilities. The guns have a proven record for controllability, accuracy and an ability to put down bad actors quickly. Even relative novices can shoot the gun fairly well with a modicum of training. First developed in the 1960s, today over 100 variants exist. Think of them as Europe’s version of America’s favorite rifle, the AR-15.
The classic gun is in service in over 40 nations. More than a few agencies in America still use them as well. Still more undoubtedly have them on racks in armories as ARs have in large part replaced the German Maschinenpistole.
Ari Alanen of Finland’s top police body told STT on Friday that “we must increasingly consider the weapons we need to take with us.”
No one with the National Police Board was immediately available for comment. No details were immediately available on when the weapons would be handed out.
In June, Finland’s security agency raised its threat assessment to the second level on a four-step scale.
While governments struggle mightily to find the motives for these attacks, everyday people seem to have no such problem.
If Finland truly wants to make their nation safer, they wouldn’t stop at up-arming their law enforcement officers. They’d also allow their civilian population to gun-up as well. By entrusting citizens to use deadly force to protect innocent life, they might help make terrorists of all stripes an endangered species.
When there are so many other better choices out there go with an MP5? SIG MPX and MP7 to name a few.
Because 9mm I’m sure. I’m guessing that’s the caliber of their duty pistols and they won’t have to deal with a different cartridge this way.
An even better solution to terrorism is that taken by Slovakia, Poland, and Hungary. Don’t foolishly invite hordes of potential terrorists into your country.
I humbly suggest that the “terrorists” probably aren’t native Finns. Nor are they likely Lutheran.
MP5 is better than a Glock, but still lacks when stacked up against IEDs and AKs.
But gladly take an MP5 against a knife. Luckily for the Finns these terrorists aren’t packing AKs and IEDs, let’s hope it stays that way
You are right. Finland unlike France doesn’t have a long history of immigration from N.Africa and the Mideast. It is safe to say most of their potential terrorists would be “migrants” recently arrived. In France and Germany it’s much more complicated as they have many citizen born and raised in these countries who join islamic terrorism. There is still hope in European countries like Finland but it takes very strict immigration policies and enforcement.
Wondering if these are hand-me-downs from their military or something.
Because they already own them. The border guard and various military units have had them since the 70’s.
MP5-10, is that a 10mm MP5? That’d be pretty cool.
Yeah, it’s like FBI’s counterterrorism task force special
Finland has universal conscription. All the men ARE trained to handle a gun.
Are there still men among the non-Slavic Europeans?
The Hungarians aren’t Slavs, and still have some balls.
I hope they will run them suppressed.
It’ll help them maintain situational awareness in an active mass-casualty event.
Allowing Joe Finn to CC would help, but the best fix is to ship their refugees out. Hungary had the right idea and as a result has had no rapefugee problem. It isn’t for nothing that it is called Islamic Terrorism. .
Too bad they sold off the last of the K/P-31s in the late 90s/early 2000s. Those are some slick subguns, and the 71 round drum doesn’t hurt either. Looks more “peaceful” than the MP5 as well, and for a final bonus it’s homegrown.
Since they’re so close to Russia, it’d be funny if they supplemented the MP-5s with the Vityaz, and see which one is the most reliable.
Also, second what Geoff PR said, put cans on them. Better for training too, as it removes one of the major disincentives to regular practice.
You’re so near to Russia
so far away from Japan
Quite a long way from Cairo
lots of miles from Vietnam
I’d prefer to have an AK74 under folder in 5.45, or even just a plain Jane AR15.
Hope they don’t twink out like Sweden. Yeah don’t let Moe-Hammond in…anywhere.
I can’t see officers going full auto rock and roll with their MP5s, so what does it offer over their standard firearm? Longer barrel and better accuracy?
Their problems aren’t caused by the lack of firepower, just the willingness to use it.
Ever since that whole Iranian Embassy thing in London, the MP-5 screams “anti/counter terrorism” to the public. You are right, that over modern pistols and good training an MP-5 won’t offer a substantial improvement in capability especially when restricted by policy and a timid mind set…. i suppose you can do this better (fast forward to 1:30): https://youtu.be/JwvWofWPx40 but its a swat team doing it and not a street cop.
This is more of a feel good measure than anything. Anyone that has an IQ above room temperature knows an armed citizenry is more of a deterrence that a few thousand cops that are always minutes away.
It doesn’t matter what kind of arms the Finns carry, if its borders are not secured and the rats are in the larder, there will always be blood.
And it’s Finns, not Fins. Fish have fins. Finland has Finns.
Yet in the UK after numerous attacks, they are still dithering over police all having more than a batton? While a nice weapon, neither a pistol or SMG is a sure truck stopper. The tool of choice lately by bad guys.
No, you are right. A hand gun and rifle wont do much to a CAR. But out here in the wild west Yankee cowboy america we dont give cops AT-4’s or Javelin’s, much less Finnish, French, or British cops. At best a belt fed weapon (with the generous helping of statistically inevitability) will detonate explsives a la VBID, or kill the driver and cause the car to slow or crash in to something….. which cops can do (and do do) all the time with the weapons they have. Which is why people are outraged, out raged I tell you!! When cops put 100’s of rounds in to a car and hit the driver twice….. But stop a vehicle? Any vehicle larger than a motorcycle is going to be beyond the capability of nearly all LE agencies, or even a light infantry squad, to “stop”.
Simo Hayha. The Finns had it in them not so long ago. Maybe they can reach down and find it again.
Honor be with the White Death and hero of the Winter War. For he who was of small stature, embodied valiance so great as to inspire generations of his countrymen.
Well, while the White Death, all praise honor and glory be to his name (as I genufect to the north east), was wounded and knocked unconscious, Finland had to surrender. They lost the deterrent effect of their only WMD.
But… I thought H&K discontinued MP5 production and replaced it with the UMP? I hope they don’t wimp out and use FMJ’s.
In Germany Baden-Württemberg will exchange the MP5 for MP7 for their policemen on the street.
its the crotch zipper design on the pants that make the terrorists attack.
its up to close not open
Looks to be a jumpsuit, not trousers. Unconventional direction, but would appear to let the user pee without having to unzip all the way.
They might consider stopping asylum seekers from entering Finland in the first place. Then they wont need better weapons to kill them.
Ignorant non-Finn here: Do Finnish private citizens also keep and bear autofiring weapons? What sorts of rifles do they possess?
More importantly, what is going on with that sling?
MP-5 pointed downward at 45° across your chest screams “tactical” and “ready to kill terrorists”!!! By wrapping the sling like that he can look like a super awesome badass tactical terrorist killer and be lazy all at the same time! Its a win-win!…. unless of course if he has to actually use the MP-5, then hes screwed. Good luck untangling that mess!
Are they hiring?
As a Finn who has experienced the Winter War 1939 as a kid, allow me to rectify some assumptions about the Finnish culture:
– while we really have about one rifle/gun per person, they are used for hunting and practicing, not for killing people.
– almost every Finn (women since 1995) are subject to conscript at the age of 18 to 26. Hence, we are prepared to defend our country, not to shoot citizens. The Finnish police shoot only a few times a year (sometimes once a year), mostly in extreme cases and even then to the lower parts of the attackers body, never to kill a suspect (by the way, they are generally called “customers” by the polite Finnish police).
As the safest nation in this tumultuous world, we shun all discussions about “defending” a home and argumentation about the efficiency of a submachine gun. With all respect to the Finnish m/31 Suomi submachine gun, also used by Simo Häyhä in the Winter War 1939-40, and in many articles considered the best “tool” during WW2.
Just come visit Finland and see children walk/bike to school unattended from the age of 5. This is something a person of a gun-happy country cannot conceive and never will, since it is a utopia that takes 100 years of mutual cooperation, respect, trust and confidence in a non-gun-happy society.
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