Speech by National Police Commissioner Ilkka Koskimäki at the 50th Anniversary event of the Police Officer of the Year in Helsinki on 29 October 2025

Police Officers of the Year, dear partners and guests,

Finland is one of the most stable, secure and free countries in the world. It is worth defending, both in war and in peace. 

The Finnish model of comprehensive security as an approach is based on the idea that security which is produced jointly is more than the sum of its constituent parts. In it, the vital functions of society are arranged through the joint efforts of the authorities, businesses, organisations and citizens, and the ability to function is thereby secured in all circumstances. 

Maintaining internal security is one of the most important tasks of the state. Public order and security as well as criminal intelligence and investigation represent its core and constitute the main tasks of the police. These factors contribute to ensuring social tranquillity and people’s ability to exercise their fundamental rights without disruption and without fear. 

Finland continues to rank among the top countries in international comparisons that measure everyday security and social tranquillity, democracy, the fulfilment of fundamental and human rights, and trust in the authorities and the legal system.

According to the Police Barometer, Finns feel that crime in Finland has decreased, but Finns are somewhat concerned about the ability of the police to perform their duties in an increasingly complex world. Many respondents feel that the police are too alone when they face situations where support from parties such as the social sector or crisis services would be needed.

People must be able to trust that society is able to intervene in phenomena that endanger safety, to prevent these phenomena or solve them at least in an urgent emergency. 

In accordance with the Police Act, we provide security together with other authorities, communities and local residents. Different studies emphasise the improvement of information exchange and a shared conception of the current situation, whether we are dealing with an individual person or a state-level influencer. This, of course, requires that information can also be acquired efficiently. 

I would argue that we already have the lowest thresholds in the world when it comes to co-operation. This is also necessary, because security can no longer be categorically divided into external and internal security. However, there is still room for improvement in co-operation. 

As an example, legislative projects concerning the exchange of information and criminal intelligence by the police aim to improve the ability to identify weak signals of serious crimes or new types of security risks and, on the other hand, to dismantle obstacles to the exchange of information between authorities.

The recent report on internal security calls for measures to eradicate serious juvenile and gang crime. The majority of young people in Finland do not commit crimes, but crimes accumulate among a small group of young people who repeatedly commit serious offences. The police, local administration, schools and social welfare authorities therefore need better practices for exchanging information and preventing crime.

Hybrid threats are characterised by asymmetric measures with a deliberately concealed purpose, and hybrid threats may be targeted at areas where it is not entirely clear who should take care of the countermeasures. In cybercrime, the crimes, criminals and the proceeds of crime move at the speed of light across national borders. The prevention of threats requires seamless co-operation between the Finnish Customs, the Finnish Border Guard, the Finnish Security and Intelligence Service, the Finnish Defence Forces and various cyber security contributors, among others. 

For the reasons mentioned above, co-operation between authorities has rightly been chosen as the theme of the 50th anniversary of the Police Officer of the Year. I would like to use this opportunity to congratulate the 50th Police Officer of the Year, Superintendent Sami Hätönen. You have served your entire career as a trailblazer and as the epitome of a good, righteous and dutiful police officer. In your work, you have passed on these qualities to future generations, and you have also been able to increase the effectiveness of policing for the benefit of society as a whole through co-operation between authorities.

Dear Police Officers of the Year,

The Police Officer of the Year is a strong institution. One indication of this is the fact that a significant number of you earlier Police Officers of the Year are here today. Among us are Olavi Elo, who was named the first Police Officer of the Year in 1976, and Kyllikki Kata, who was acknowledged as the first female Police Officer of the Year in 1986.

In this context, I would also like to remember those who are no longer in our midst. They are, based on the year when they were selected Police Officers of the Year: 1980 Viktor Ahven, 1981 Erkki Tapaninmäki, 1983 Mauri Hauhia, 1989 Aimo Ojanen, 1990 Esa Meronen, 2014 Kauko Hakala and 2018 Santeri Sivonen.

I would like ask you to honour with me the memory of those who have passed away with a brief moment of silence. 

Police Officers of the Year, you are an example of our profession, and you have implemented our key values in your work – fair, courageous and always reliable.

As the police, we must act impartially and in accordance with the law in all situations. We treat all people and groups equally and make decisions transparently. Our co-operation must be open and constructive.

Courageous means that we act professionally in all situations and also make difficult decisions. We show empathy and understanding even when the situation is difficult. We take responsibility, learn from our mistakes and boldly renew ourselves.

Always reliable means that we act consistently, transparently and ethically. We are professional and efficient. We build the security of society responsibly. We succeed by working together.

Two of our three values refer directly to our ability to co-operate. Our newest value – courageous – is quite familiar as a requirement in field work or, for example, in the fight against organised crime. 

However, courage is also needed more broadly, for example in the development of administration, so that we can use the resources allocated to us by society as efficiently as possible. I encourage you to boldly set an example in that as well.

Ladies and gentlemen,

According to the most recent Police Barometer, 92 per cent of Finns trust the police fairly much or very much. Trust shown to the other security authorities in Finland is also at a record high level globally. Trust is not built in an instant; it is created every day in all the work we do.

Even though we are today celebrating the heroes of police work, I cannot help but comment on the fact that there have been persons in the service of the police who have been suspected of or found to have committed serious crimes. 

Each such case has been a shocking failure, both on a personal level and on the level of the entire organisation. I would like to point out here that the police have an absolute zero tolerance for all kinds of abuse. Each case is referred to the prosecutor for assessment, and we do not hesitate to use even hard civil service measures. 

I trust my own people in this matter. The internationally respected Finnish police training has been a specific success factor in our administration. It combines theory and practice. Human rights and ethics are at the core of the training, and it emphasises interaction skills, not just the use of force. 

Every graduating police officer takes an ethical oath in which they promise to behave to the best of their ability and skills at all times and in all situations in a manner appropriate to the dignity of a police officer, and to act openly and in a way that promotes reconciliation.

Finally,

I would like to thank our partners in the Police Officer of the Year project: Helsinki Junior Chamber of Commerce and the Finnish Police Union. With the excellent co-operation which is also the theme of today, we have chosen one police officer each year over the past half a century. These police officers have distinguished themselves in their work and displayed exemplary behaviour. 

In the early stages, the criteria for rewarding were personal feats that had required courage, and preventive work. Nowadays, in addition to personal achievements, the title is also given in recognition of the sector represented by the Police Officer of the Year. The Police Officers of the Year have come from all parts of Finland – from Tornio to Turku and from Helsinki to The Hague. 

Promoting good governance is one of the strategic goals of the Junior Chambers of Commerce, and it is important for us in the police that the title of Police Officer of the Year has been established by an independent party outside our own administration. 

I would like to welcome all of you, old acquaintances of the police, warmly welcome to this 50th anniversary of the Police Officer of the Year.