Kiiskinen chosen Police Officer of the Year

Senior Sergeant Jonna Kiiskinen of the Eastern Finland Police Department has been selected as the Police Officer of the Year 2026 in Finland, said an official press release on Wednesday.

The Police Officer of the Year was selected in co-operation between the Helsinki Junior Chamber of Commerce, the Finnish Police Union and the National Police Board.

The selection committee said that that Kiiskinen has had a diverse career in core police work, both in field operations and criminal investigations. She takes a positive and proactive approach to development, familiarises herself thoroughly with new issues and plans the necessary training together with her team.”

This year, the theme of the Police Officer of the Year selection is the most visible form of police work: core police work. Core police work is diverse and demanding. The selection emphasised a police officer who carries out core police work with great dedication and professionalism and who is committed to developing both police operations and their own competence.

Kiiskinen has had a long and diverse career in core police work, both in field operations and criminal investigations. She has also actively and persistently developed both areas of police work.

She currently works at the Eastern Finland Police Department as the team leader of a field operations team and a tactical negotiation team.

She is committed to continuously developing her competence and will begin a Master’s degree programme for police commanding officers in autumn 2027.

In her speech at the event, Kiiskinen emphasised the importance of community in police work and trust in colleagues. She said that police work is never done alone. Its strength comes from colleagues supporting each other and from the expertise available throughout the organisation.

“To me, police work is at its best when you can trust your colleague or your team more than you trust yourself. It means wanting someone else to succeed even when you gain nothing from it yourself,” Kiiskinen said.