The Helsinki Police Department (HPD) ( Finnish: Helsingin poliisilaitos) is the department of the

Police of Finland The Police of Finland (, ) is a national government agency responsible for general police and law enforcement matters in the Republic of Finland. The Police of Finland is subordinate to the Ministry of the Interior and consists of the National P ...

in charge of the Finnish capital of

Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...

. Its responsibilities include enforcing the law and providing security for the city. The Helsinki Police has close to 1,600 employees. Due to Helsinki's status as the capital of the country, the HPD is the largest and most prominent in the country.

History

The HPD was established in 1826 by order of senior law enforcement officials of the Grand Duchy of Finland, which was a Finnish autonomous government of the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...

. By March 1882, the HPD was temporarily funded and had only four horses available for patrol. A couple of years later,

Alexander III of Russia Alexander III ( rus, Алекса́ндр III Алекса́ндрович, r=Aleksandr III Aleksandrovich; 10 March 18451 November 1894) was Emperor of Russia, King of Poland and Grand Duke of Finland from 13 March 1881 until his death in 18 ...

visited Helsinki on an official visit gifted the HPG with more than two horses. The size of the HPD eventually grew slowly. At the turn of the century, the HPD had the capability of patrolling the entire city including the extensive parkland and forest areas of the

Töölö Töölö (; sv, Tölö, formerly spelled ''Thölö'') is the collective name for the neighbourhoods Etu-Töölö ( sv, Främre Tölö, lit=Front Töölö, links=no) and Taka-Töölö ( sv, Bortre Tölö, lit=Rear Töölö, links=no) in Helsinki ...

neighborhood. The HPD's strength in the 1920s was at least 100 and included veterinarians, soldiers, mages and militiamen who participated in police work. The HPD has taken part in many interventions and conflicts in its history, such as the demonstrations in the capital against the Soviet-led invasion of Czechoslovakia in August 1968. It also has provided security for many events, such as the

8th World Festival of Youth and Students 8 (eight) is the natural number following 7 and preceding 9. In mathematics 8 is: * a composite number, its proper divisors being , , and . It is twice 4 or four times 2. * a power of two, being 2 (two cubed), and is the first number of t ...

in 1962 and the

Helsinki Summit Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...

in 2018.

Uniform

The police wear field uniforms, protective clothing and special clothing in their everyday activities and work. Formal uniforms are worn during ceremonial events and dress uniforms during special occasions. The first official police uniform was introduced at the department in 1861 and echoed the Western European style of the 19th century. A Russified type of uniform was used during the Russian occupation of the early 1900s, and included breeches and a buttonless jackets.

References

External links

* {{Official website, https://poliisi.fi/en/helsinki-police-department Government agencies established in 1826 Law enforcement in Finland Organisations based in Helsinki

History

Uniform

See also

References

External links