Police students may be appointed to police reserve

The President of the Republic approved the bill on establishing a police reserve on Friday 22 May 2026. Today, the Government issued decrees laying down provisions on the possibility of appointing police students to the police reserve and on the studies required of reserve police officers.

An amendment to the Decree on Police Administration will introduce the possibility of appointing a police student to a fixed‑term public service employment relationship as a Constable Intern in the police reserve. 

The amendment to the Decree on Police Administration is intended to enter into force on 1 January 2027.

Amendments to the Government Decree on the Police University College lay down provisions on the studies required of reserve police officers, including topics such as police duties and powers and the basics of operational police work. The decree also lays down provisions on demonstrating proficiency in the second national language in studies leading to a Master’s degree at a university of applied sciences, as an alternative to demonstrating language skills as part of studies leading to a Bachelor’s degree or by other means.

The amendment to the Government Decree on the Police University College is set to enter into force mainly on 1 September 2026, and in full on 1 January 2027.

Inquiries: 

Katariina Simonen, Ministerial Adviser, tel. +358 295 488 212
The email addresses of the Ministry of the Interior are in the format [email protected].