Helsinki demands funding for 300-500 more police officers
City Board alarmed by plans to cut 40 jobs from police force
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The Helsinki City Board has demanded that the Ministry of the Interior correct the structural shortage of 300-500 police officers in the capital city by the end of the decade.
According to the statement issued by the City Board on Monday, the hiring of new police officers should begin next year.
Helsinki Mayor Eva-Riitta Siitonen brought up the issue of police force resources separately on Monday after news reports last week indicated that the Ministry of the Interior is planning to axe the jobs of forty police officers in Helsinki.
In practice, this cut would be carried out by not filling the posts of retiring officers.
Siitonen's proposal of issuing the statement was approved unanimously by the City Board, which emphasised that police staffing and resources form a critical part of the security of the capital city.
According to a strategy report on Helsinki's safety, which will be discussed in the City Council in the fall, the capital city needs more police officers due to increased international mobility, the opening of EU borders, international crime, and increasing security needs at large conferences, sports events, and foreign embassies.
Minister of the Interior Kari Rajamäki has said that no final decisions on police force appropriations have yet been made.
Helsingin Sanomat
