Kolehmainen says that the big issues he wants to focus on at his new job include cyber security and the increasing challenges of a digital world.
He says that cyber crimes can potentially cause major security threats and wants to ensure that police academy cadets get enough training in technology-based crime fighting.
Kolehmainen, 54, says international crime and terrorism are important issues for him.
While he doesn’t say there are any major threats at the moment, he does say that it’s time for Finland to lose its naiveté about its insularity to the world.
“The goal is that Finland will continue, also in the future, to be a good place to live and be Europe’s safest country,” Kolehmainen said on Thursday.
Kolehmainen said he believes that the public’s trust in the police would remain high in the future, despite the blemish that the former drug squad chief Jari Aarnio left on the police department when he was arrested on a large number of corruption and drug charges in 2013.
Kolehmainen has worked in law enforcement for the past 30 years and has served as head of the Police Board since 2014.