On average, 25% of employees are missing in the State Police. Staff shortages have been a problem for years. In order to interest young people in learning the profession of a police officer, every year the State Police College organizes an Open Door Day, reports “ReTV”.
Last year, 135 young people were admitted to the State Police College. It’s true – not all young people who start school finish it.
According to the data of the European Union office “Eurostat”, there are approximately 233 police officers per 100,000 inhabitants in Latvia, which is one of the lowest indicators in Europe, according to the report of the State Police for the year 2023. Interest in police work is high, which is proven by the fact that about 150 young people attended the Open Days at the State Police College.
The students of the State Police College say that studies here are interesting and dynamic. In addition to training, there is an opportunity to improve physical endurance, which is useful in police work. There is also an opportunity to supplement knowledge from instructors with extensive experience in police work.
Observations show that more and more women are choosing to link their future with work in the State Police. This is also confirmed by the director of the State Police College, Dmitrijs Homenko. He says that the explanation is quite simple. “We are just happy about it. We can say that the Latvian police is the most beautiful police in Europe. The proportion of women is higher than the European average. But for me, this can be explained by the logical fact that nowadays a police officer does not always have to act with physical force, physical superiority is not always necessary. There are many smart technologies, special tools. It doesn’t matter which person pushes the button.”
Speaking about the salary during studies, Homenko explains that the studies are well paid so that young people do not have to look for any additional source of income. “I will undertake to claim that studies at the State Police College are the second best paid in the country. After studying in the National Armed Forces. But the point here is that external security cannot exist without internal security. In this case, I would like to underline that the Ministry of the Interior has done a lot in recent years to take care of the security of cadets. When entering the State Police College, cadets are in the service. They receive the minimum monthly salary, and they also receive performance bonuses.”
