Törhönen chosen Police Officer of the Year

Detective Sergeant Mirka Törhönen from the National Bureau of Investigation has been chosen as The Police Officer of the Year 2024, said the National Police Board in a press release on Friday.

Törhönen, who works as an analyst at Europol has been involved in creating new operating models for detecting crimes committed by international mobile crime groups in Finland.

“His analytical work has made Törhönen a key player, above all, in combatting cross-border property crime in Finland. He has always been willing to build on his own professional skills and, above all, is prepared to share his own expertise to benefit the entire police organisation,” said the jury.

Police analytical activities and analytics were chosen as this year’s Police Officer of the Year theme.

“The importance of international information exchange in preventing, detecting and investigating crime cannot be overemphasized. The amount of information to be analysed has increased, and a common situational picture is important in data processing. Producing and sharing analysed data is one of Europol's core tasks,” said Mirka Törhönen.

Törhönen works as a detective sergeant at Europol in the Hague. One of Europol's most important tasks is to enable and support cooperation between Member States in crime prevention.

Törhönen’s career began in 1991, when he started his career in control and emergency response duties before moving on to criminal investigation. He has worked for the police for 33 years, of which 14 years at the National Bureau of Investigation.