Finland’s interior minister has announced that more police officers of immigrant background are needed to ensure everyone feels comfortable with law enforcement officials.
“Fostering trust among all population groups requires determined efforts from the police, a part of which is student recruitment,” said the Kai Mykkänen at a recent police event. “Attracting young people of immigrant backgrounds to police studies strengthens trust and interaction between the police and minority groups.
“I hope security authorities work actively to ensure their future employees represent the whole population of Finland,” he added.
As reported by The Helsinki Times, Mykkänen drew attention to his discussions with representatives of the Police University College, saying they indicate that the experiences of older generations of immigrants of police officers in their old home country are a major obstacle to becoming a police officer.
“Parents don’t often encourage [their children] to pursue policing. That’s why old recruitment methods aren’t necessarily effective when it comes to this target group,” he viewed.
