Kone Foundation | 2026–2029
The Ethical Police (EEPO) project (2026–2029) examines ethical conduct in policing in Finland. Combining adult education and the sociology of work, the research project aims to investigate how ethics is understood, taken into account or disregarded in policing, and how ethical competence develops in police work and education. The research focuses particularly on preventive police work.
The role of the police is to safeguard everyday security and prevent crime and related problems in society. Ethics is particularly important in police work because the police not only have the legal authority to restrict citizens’ liberty and make independent decisions in their day-to-day work, but also make a concerted effort to build trust with different population groups. In principle, police conduct is guided by the police code of ethics.
The EEPO project approaches ethics from the perspectives of police officers themselves, students training to become police officers and representatives of police stakeholder groups. Guided by a narrative-ethnographic research strategy, the project draws on extensive research material comprising interviews, mobile diaries, empathy-based stories and field diaries. The material is analysed using qualitative methods.
The project is administered by the University of Eastern Finland, and Sari Vanhanen holds a dual affiliation with the University of Eastern Finland and the Migration Institute of Finland. In the EEPO project, she will examine ethics in police work particularly from the perspectives of various partner organisations. In addition, Saara Pellander, Executive Director of the Migration Institute of Finland, is a member of the project’s steering group.
The project is funded by Kone Foundation.
Researcher at the Migration Institute of Finland: