Two ministries on collision course over future of Traffic Police

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Minister of Transport and Communications Merja Kyllönen (Left Alliance) and her entire ministry oppose the abolition of the National Traffic Police.
      As a consequence the fate of the nationwide police department, which, among other things, monitors traffic on the country’s roads and highways, is becoming a juicy bone of contention between two ministries - the Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of Transport and Communications.
      The Ministry of the Interior project group that was established to come up with a plan for the restructuring of the police will officially propose the abolition of the National Traffic Police to Minister of the Interior Päivi Räsänen (Christ. Dem.) later this month.
     
The idea is to transfer the tasks of the Traffic Police to local police departments and thus partly facilitate the proposed budget cuts.
      According to information obtained by Helsingin Sanomat, the project group already have a finished plan for the reshuffle of not just the traffic monitoring duties but also all the other tasks of the Traffic Police.
      The driving instruction of police officers and the state drivers and chauffeurs would be transferred to the Police College of Finland, the policing duties at the Helsinki-Vantaa Airport to the Eastern and Central Uusimaa Police Departments, and the governmental and presidential security duties to the Helsinki Police Department.
     
According to the Ministry of Transport and Communications, the traffic monitoring duties should be moved in the opposite direction - from the local police departments to the National Traffic Police.
      This should include the automated surveillance of road traffic as well as the nationwide supervision of the entire traffic control system.
      “This is a major issue. The role of the National Traffic Police cannot be overemphasised when talking about traffic safety. The Traffic Police play a significant role especially in monitoring heavy traffic and public transport”, says Minna Kivimäki, Director-General of the Transport Policy Department at the Ministry of Transport and Communications.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Threat of closure looms over Traffic Police (7.6.2012)

Helsingin Sanomat