Foxell awarded special distinction as new police officers take oath

A total of 120 graduates, mostly graduated in 2022 swore the ethical Police oath at the Police University College in Tampere on Tuesday, said the National Police Board in a press release.

One of the sworn in Police officers, Heidi Foxell was awarded the special distinction by the National Police Commander.

Despite extreme her extreme adversities on a human scale, she has proved stamina and exemplary perseverance by fighting to attain her dream to graduate as a police officer, although her study was interrupted ten years ago.

The purpose of the ethical oath is to make the Police officers more clearly aware and own the values and best practices expected from the Police in Finland.

Meanwhile, speaking on the occasion National Police Commissioner Seppo Kolehmainen said that the internal security and a good sense of security create the conditions and capacity to cope with the crises affecting the country’s external security.

He also said that the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine has caused Finland´s security environment to change in a fundamental and permanent way.

“As Finland now is a member of NATO, the Police is charged with new tasks related to both the NATO capacity and to its operative support. We have identified four core areas which are hybrid operations, terrorism, host country support and resilience work,” Kolehmainen said in his speech to new officer swearing their Police oath in Tampere.

“The Police has systematically prepared itself to the changes brought about by our NATO membership, and we are also fully prepared to take up these tasks,” he said.

At the same time, he underlined that in Finland, the first response to hybrid operations is the responsible of the Police, also taking care of the pretrial investigation, be it terrorist attacks, sabotages camouflaged as accidents, or attempts to undermine public order and security.

The forces of change affecting the Police operations are seen in many different directions. The National Police Board is soon publishing the so-called capital analysis which assesses the Police capabilities to respond to the changes in the operating environment.

This is an extensive whole which focuses on both the human, financial, structural and physical capital as well as that of relationships.

According to Kolehmainen, the Police will do all in its power to bridge the potential gap between the changes in the operating environment and the capabilities.

“If the current field of operations continues to expand, we have to think what kind of services and how large a staff and other resources are needed to provide the services for the Finnish people,” he said, adding that the previous Government did enhance the Police funding, and the technical framework decision allows police to plan ahead on a longer term.