Finland makes police archives public.

For the first time, Finland's Security Police, Supo, will make its archives public next year.

Supo Communications Manager Liinu Lehto-Seljavaara told the daily Aamulehti that in 2009 its 1949 archives will be transferred to the National Archives, where they will be accessible to anyone. Currently, access to Supo archives is limited to those with official permission from the Security Police.

"We don't anticipate a mad rush, but it's still difficult to tell, as this is the first time that the archives will be made public," said Lehto-Seljavaara.

This is a big change for the organization. Although Finnish law requires the Security Police to make its annual reports public, Supo has appealed to the Supreme Administrative Court to keep its reports closed. The decision is still pending.

Meanwhile, however, Lehto-Seljavaara, who became the organization's first communications manager earlier this year, is moving Supo toward increased transparency. In May, Supo held the first news conference in its history, presented its first annual report, and began discussing security issues in Finland.