Rainio selected Police Officer of the Year

Senior Constable Teppo Rainio of the Häme Police Department has been selected the Police Officer of the Year 2021.

Rainio, who works in Lahti, is mainly responsible for Traffic control and other traffic-related issues, said the National Police Board in a press release on Friday.

Speaking on the occasion at the Finnish House of Nobility in Helsinki on Friday, Rainio underlined that traffic is something that concerns us all every single day.

“A young person becomes a traffic member when they get their driver’s licence. The driver’s licence and becoming 15 years old immediately means more responsibility. Today, acceptance is sought through social media clicks or numbers of followers. Under this pressure, the young drivers are particularly vulnerable. In traffic, seeking attention often manifests itself in terms or excesses and extra risks, he said.

Traffic is today safer than ever before but the good trend in safety has slowed down, and the risks taken by young men in traffic are a particular cause for concern for the Police Officer of the Year.

“Some young drivers accelerate and race each other with no respect for speed limits, or for their personal or other people’s safety,” Rainio added.

According to him, the situation has been made more difficult by the exceptional licences given to 17-years-olds, and naturally, the COVID-19 pandemic with no chance for the young to go to parties or places to meet.

A motorbike officer since 2017, his job description also includes controls of off-road traffic driving a snowmobile and quad bike as well as demanding control of the way of driving, using specialised equipment.

He is also masters the use of an automated control car and the controls of heavy traffic.

He is well versed with the novelties of the new Road Traffic Act. In fact, he has trained the Häme Police department staff about the overall reform in 2020, and he has also been a road accident investigation team Police member since 2010.

Becoming a policeman was not a childhood dream for Teppo Rainio. After his military service, he worked a few years as a guard and only then applied for police studies which he completed in 2004.

He started his official Police work in Padasjoki, a small rural Police district, with mixed responsibilities where everybody in duty covers all Police tasks. His way to work close to people goes back to those times.

As a result of organisational changes, Teppo Rainio moved to the Lahti Police department in 2009, taking up field tasks. In this context, he became increasingly interested in traffic control duties, and along with the following change in 2014, he was offered the opportunity to move to the Häme Police Department, traffic sector, and become a fulltime traffic control officer.

This was the 46th time of nominating the Police of the Year. The decision is taken by Junior Chamber International of Helsinki, the Finnish Police Federation and the National Police Board of Finland.