Turkish National Police Academy

History

The Police academy was founded in accordance with Article 18 of the Act 32019 as a one-year-in service-training institute of Higher Education to educate and train junior and senior executive constables on 6 November 1937.

The Police Training Institute was first a higher education institution offering a two-year training program designed in line with the resolutions of the Education and Training Council of the Ministry of National Education in 1940. Later the institution was included in the higher education league of schools offering a three-year education program in 1962, and from 1984 on wards it started to offer a four-year undergraduate program.

In compliance with the Constitution (Article 132) and Higher Education Law (Article 2) the institution gained a different legislative identity and was entitled The National Police Academy offering a four-year undergraduate program upon the enactment of Police Higher Education Act No.3087 issued on 6 December1984.

In order to meet the needs in the personnel to work for the other departments of the Police Organization, students majoring in different fields of study of the universities were being admitted for the first time by having made the necessary amendments to the scope of Act No. 3201 in 1989, and the Police Academy was given the responsibility and the authority to process all the legal procedures pertaining there to.

With a new concept of Police University in mind, the Police Academy was restructured within the scope of Police Higher Education Act 4652 issued on 25 April 2001 to gain a university status by including the Faculty of Security Sciences, the Institute of Security Sciences, Police Vocational Schools of Higher Education, and Faculty and Higher Education Institutions offering the training programs concerned.

Of all the schools, previously operating as Police Training Schools to meet the needs of the Police Organization for police officers, twenty were transformed into Police Vocational Schools of Higher Education in line with the resolutions of the Council of Ministers enacted on 6 October 2004 in the issue of the Official Gazette no. 24545, and the other five subsequently went through the same process in compliance with the resolutions of the Council of Ministers enacted on 9 August in the issue of the Official Gazette no. 25239.

In 2002 the foundation of the Institute of Security Sciences was fully completed to admit students upon the approval of The Council of Higher Education on 18 March 2002, and the fields of study (Criminal Investigation, Security Strategies and Administration, International Policing and Criminal Justice and Administration) were in place to offer postgraduate programs conferring Master’s degrees in the fields concerned. Besides, the Institute offers Ph.D. programs to train academic personnel to meet the needs of the faculty and vocational higher education schools.

Goals

As a self-renewing institution armed with scientific autonomy the overall goal of the Police Academy is to train officers, constables and chief constables for the Police Organization, to offer a two-year course, undergraduate and graduate programs conferring a two-year degree, bachelor’s degree and master’s degree respectively in the fields concerned, to conduct scientific researches, to publish in the fields of interest and carry out supervision projects on demand.

Training and education programs

Pre-undergraduate Program

The pre-undergraduate program is a two-year academic study, each of which is composed of 28 weeks, offering a two-year degree course to those planning to be police officers with the lowest rank in the police organization. Regular attendance and satisfactory academic performance required for each year form the basis for successful completion of the whole program to receive the degree awarded. "'Undergraduate Program"'

The faculty of Security Sciences offers this four-year degree course. Cadets of foreign origin follow a one-year prep school program to learn Turkish besides the undergraduate program of the faculty. Regular attendance and satisfactory academic performance in each academic year form the basis for successful completion of the whole program.

Graduate Program

The Institute of Security Sciences offers a two-year postgraduate study, composed of four semesters on the basis of allowing two semesters for course study and two semesters for thesis writing in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of master of police studies in the fields of interest concerned.

Ph.D. Program

The Institute of Security Sciences offers a four-year Ph.D. program, composed of eight semesters on the basis of allowing two semesters for course study and six semesters for thesis writing in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of philosophy of police studies in the fields of interest concerned.

Faculty and Higher Education Institutions Program

This program, included in the Police Academy curriculum as part of the whole education and training program, is designed to admit students from those already enrolled as regular students in different faculties of state universities in Ankara and train them as the cadets on behalf of the Police Organization while they pursue their studies in the special fields in which the police organization feels the need for the qualified personnel, who also go through adaptation and training programs before appointed as police constables to work in the departments concerned.

Management Program

As part of the education and training program of the Institute of Security Sciences, this special program is designed for 3rd degree superintendents who display satisfactory performance in the tests of promotion in order to be trained as Senior Chief Constables of High Rank, and also for constables to be trained as Junior Executive Constables.

ource of students

Faculty of Security Sciences

Besides Police College graduates, High School graduates (the number of which can be at least as many as 25 % of Police Academy-bound Police College graduates admitted each year, including those graduating from Vocational High Schools and Commerce and Tourism High Schools) and students of foreign origin form the source of cadets allowed to enter the undergraduate program of the faculty.

Institute of Security Sciences

The students allowed to follow the postgraduate program of the institute are those who have already completed their undergraduate education at the Police Academy, Military Schools, universities if educated on behalf of the General Directorate of Police Organization and other institutions of higher education (Faculty of Law, Faculty of Political Sciences, and Faulty of Finance and Administrative Studies).

FYO (Faculty and Institutions of Higher Education)

Graduates of Police College, High Schools, Technical Schools for Boys, Technical Schools for Girls, Commerce and Tourism High schools form the source of the students of Faculty and Institutions of Higher Education. The students to be educated on behalf of the General Directorate of Police Organization are selected on the basis of selection requirements specified by the directorate concerned each year from those already enrolled in the First Year, Second Year and Third Year of the programs of the faculties operating in the province where the Police Academy is situated.

Police Vocational Schools of Higher Education

The graduates of high schools, technical schools for boys, technical schools for boys, commerce and tourism high schools form the source of the cadets admitted to follow the programs offered.

GOAL – THE DURATION EDUCATION

Goal

The Police Academy having scientific autonomy and having faculty, institute and professional higher schools in its body aims to meet personnel needs of the Police Organization in different ranks such as; constables, ranking personnel and administrators, and in line with this aim it gives education at undergraduate, bachelor’s and postgraduate degrees, carries out scientific researches, publish documents and provides consultation. While the Academy carries out these aims; In line with the principles and revolutions of Atatürk, it acquaints the students with Atatürk’s nationalism, principles of democratic, secular and social law state and professional values and service consciousness.Our national culture is developed within universal culture with its features and forms bound to custom and usage, and students are acquainted with soul and willpower which strengthen national unity and ties.

Duration education

The whole undergraduate program of the faculty of Security Sciences is a four-year degree course designed on the basis of satisfactory completion of two semesters for each academic year with one-academic year optional study allocated for those who have not completed their studies satisfactorily within the duration required. The cadets thought to be unable to complete the program within five-year-duration of study are declared ‘school dropout’ irrespective of their academic year level.

Pre-Service Training

After a successful academic study all the year round and summer training program, it is a prerequisite for them to complete their pre-service training in order to go through a certain program for a month to be well-informed and equipped with certain skills to handle daily transactions and operations conducted on a regular fashion.

ummer Training Camps

Upon successful completion of their studies during their first and second academic years, the cadets are liable to go through a summer training program at Didim Training Camp for a month or two if not indicated otherwise by the General Directorate of Police. The cadets are trained in order for them to improve their shooting skills, put their theoretical knowledge into practice, develop their physical strength and practice their first aid skills.

At the end of the training program, the cadets will be given a test on their competence and performance in the areas concerned on a regular basis. Their performance will be evaluated as 'satisfactory' or 'dissatisfactory' according to the criteria set beforehand. Those whose performances are 'unsatisfactory' will take the same test(s) the very next year until their performance reaches a certain standard to be considered 'satisfactory'.

ource of Student

Police College is a boarding state high school whose graduates are all academy-bound and are admitted to The Faculty of Security Sciences. Apart from College graduates, high school graduates, vocational high school graduates and students from abroad may apply for the undergraduate program of the faculty.

Our Guests (Students From Abroad)

In accordance with the mutual educational agreements signed between the countries concerned and Turkey, students of foreign nationality are allowed to apply provided that the Ministry of Interior approves. The students from abroad will be given a Turkish proficiency test, and if they have adequate command of Turkish to follow the program, they will be enrolled. There are 227 foreign students from 13 different countries enrolled at the moment. These countries are:

Albania, Azerbaijan, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Georgia, Jordan, Kyrgyzstan, Macedonia, Moldavia, Mongolia, Palestine, Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, Turkmenistan and Sudan.

ocrates/Erasmus

Police Academy is actively involved in EU Education and Youth Programs and holds Erasmus University Charter-EUC. The Academy has signed mutual agreements with the higher education institutions to exchange students and staff members within the scope of Socrates/Erasmus Program. The above-mentioned institutions are as follows:

 General Jonas Zemaitis Military Academy, Lithuania

 Police Academy, Czech Republic

 Faculty of Criminal Justice and Security, Maribor University, Slovenia

 Salford University, England

 Lyon 3 University

Three students from the Faculty of Criminal Justice of Maribor University came to the Police Academy on a student--exchange program in 2005-2006 academic year to follow the program for one semester. Within the same academic year two Lithuanian postgraduate students came to the Institute of Security Sciences to do some research for their Master’s thesis.

Three Police Academy Cadets of the Faculty of Security Sciences went to Maribor University to follow the undergraduate program of the Faculty of Criminal Justice for one semester.

Some staff members of the universities in Lithuania, England and Slovenia came to the Police Academy as visiting scholars to lecture for a period of time, and staff members of the Faculty of Security Sciences went to those countries to teach for the same period of time.

Bologna Process

The Police Academy undertakes all the responsibilities to improve the quality of all the educational programs in order to be recognized as a highly credited higher education institution. In this context the academy has already completed all the process of transforming into the EU credit transfer system and enclosing a transcript of credits with the diploma conferred. All the legal procedures regarding the Bologna process is handled accordingly in time and with due effort delivered in scrutiny.

Promotion prospects

The graduates of the Faculty of Security Sciences will be appointed to work at various departments in the National Security Organization as an assistant commissar, a police officer in the administrative section of the police force. They have the opportunity to be promoted to hold the highest rank in the organization. They also benefit a lot from a wide range of opportunities that the organization offers such as housing provided free of charge for the whole family, summer or winter resorts run by the organization, houses of police operating nation-wide, health—care provided for all the members of the family. They are also endowed with the opportunity to follow language programs abroad, in-service training programs designed abroad and foreign mission to be completed in embassies abroad for a certain period of time.

Life in The Faculty

The Faculty of Security Sciences has its own spacious and landscaped campus situated on a 920— acre of land in Golbasi, a small town 25 km.s away from Ankara. In addition to the lecture halls, there are also simulation rooms designed for traffic and forensic science courses for the students to follow and take part in them while learning how to investigate the scene of the accident or the crime committed. Its main campus—smaller in size and inseparable from the city— is in Anittepe, where the Institute of Security Sciences operates and runs its own programs.Library opens from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and is in service with 25.000 volumes of books and periodicals for the students, personnel and researchers. There exists a language lab with computer assisted programs backed up with sound track for listening practice and viewing audio-visual materials. The conference hall, holding 750 people, serves as a hall for viewing movies, organizing symposia and panel discussions besides recreational activities produced and directed by the students.

In order for the cadets to rest and to meet their various needs, there are four different cafeterias provided for each academic year—freshmen, sophomores, juniors and seniors. Each academic year students are regarded as a group with a strong sense of belongingness who has their own completely separate living quarters on the campus. There are also offices for the social activity groups of students to organize their activities to help create favorable social atmosphere for the cadets to improve their self-confidence and to express themselves well on every business or social occasionGolbasi Campus has three dining halls: students' hall for 1150, a smaller one for 100 people available for the staff only and a VIP hall for the distinguished guests visiting the Academy on a social occasion. On Anittepe campus is also another dining hall for 400 students and an open-air cafeteria-like restaurant open to the students, the personnel and even the public.On Anittepe Campus stands a nine-storey dormitory for the students studying at other universities on behalf of the Police Academy. On Golbasi Campus are there two men's dormitories accommodating 1500 students and a 120—student dormitory for women students.A post office situated on the Golbasi Campus is in operation to provide all kinds of postal service from 8: 00 a.m. to 5: 00 p.m. There are also three barbers, three tailors and two shoe-repairers employed to meet the daily needs of the cadets and also the personnel. One can reach Golbasi campus by the service buses departing from the Anittepe Campus in the city centre. Also the public buses can be used to reach Golbasi departing from the Sihhiye and Ulus centers.

Academy TV

Academy TV is a close-circuit channel broadcasting around the principles set in line with the educational goals of the Police Academy. These principles are as follows:

* to assist learning by means of both visual and aural programs for students to achieve ultimate outcome out of formal instruction,

* to inform the cadets of the latest news as to what goes on in the whole world, and

* to contribute to the training and socialization of the cadets by broadening their horizons and encouraging their participation to become highly effective and productive members of the community.

Academy TV programs fall into three different categories: education, daily news and magazine. Through these programs the TV aims not only at providing the students with necessary information pertaining to their professional life but arousing interest in their mind to discipline their social life as well.

ports activities

Sports complex, already set up on an area of 86.000 square meters, consists of quite a wide range of smaller facilities such as three covered sports halls, two small-sized football fields with a synthetic special floor, one tennis court, one mini golf court, three basketball, five volleyball and beach volleyball fields, three saunas and one athletics field. In addition to these, there is one sports hall, fitness centre, and a small-sized football field on Anittepe Campus for physical education and self-defense courses to be done. The cadets are also allowed to use all these sports facilities for their own spare time sports activities.

The cadets are trained in shooting in order for them to develop their skills in two different polygons, one for firearms and the other one for air pistols, equipped with high-tech gadgetry having scenario—based standard immobilized swivel target, mobilized swivel target and a standard one.Six hundred students are actively engaged in a wide variety of sports ranging from athletics to table tennis, reaching 18 branches in total. In the season of 2001-2002, 22 cadets were chosen to be on the National Team in shooting, cross racing, ice hockey, karate, skiing, judo and taekwondo. Up on officially recognized in 1996, Police Academy and College Sports Club became a federation operating in quite a wide range of sports such as shooting, ice hockey, weight-lifting, skiing, volleyball, basketball, boxing, auto racing, and the like, and also competes with other teams in the relevant sports leagues. Through several training programs organized by the federation, a great number of security personnel of governmental organizations, both at home and abroad, have been trained in shooting, self-defense and professional security practices.

Social Clubs

Cadets, regardless of age and academic year, put premium on the social activities to enhance the capacity for running a democratic society which will, in turn, help create skills for self-government, leadership and responsibility for decisions have to be learned by experiencing them. With this idea in mind, they become actively involved in social activities and are enthusiastic to establish social clubs. Some of them are as follows:

*Training and Self-development

* Software Programming and Development

* Communication and Media

* Press and Publishing

* Academy TV

* Language Training Centre

* Atam Group

* Theatre, Music and Cinema

* Billiards Sports Group

* Eurasia Group

* Environmental Issues

* Poets Society

* Special Project Group

* Police Academy Scientific Research Club

* Turkish Folklore Group

* EU Research Group

* Translation Club

* Drama Club

Publications

The Turkish Journal of Police Studies is a periodical published quarterly on police studies under the auspices of the Police Academy particularly focusing on preventing and combating crimes by dealing with them on a large scientific scale and aiming to present professional expertise with a scientific point of view. Besides the journal mentioned above, under the auspices of the Academy, another journal is published on Human Rights and human rights violations as indicated by the Verdicts of the European Court of Human Rights. A pamphlet of daily articles of well-known columnists is also duplicated and disseminated across to all cadets interested in current issues under discussion. Each academic year students are encouraged to prepare a newspaper composed of their writings in order to express their feelings and explain their points as to some important issues that they want to discuss.

Institute of Security Sciences

The Institute of Security Sciences, aiming to train and educate researchers so as to meet the needs for staff members of the faculty as well as educating scholars in the police studies, was founded in 2001 in compliance with Police Higher Education Law No. 4652.

The major source of graduate students of the institute is the Police Academy Faculty of Security Sciences originating cadets. Besides the Police Academy graduates, graduates of the Military School, Faculty of Finance and Administration, Faculty of Law and Faculty of Political Sciences are also admitted to follow the Master’s and Ph. D programs.

The institute offers graduate programs in the following fields of studies:
* Criminal Investigations
* Security Administration and Strategies
* International Police Studies
* Criminal Justice and Administration

Graduate students of foreign origin are allowed to apply for the programs in any fields of study upon the recommendation of the institute and the ratification of the administrative board of the Police Academy. The graduate students are admitted to do their research for the degree concerned in accordance with the framework of the resolutions declared by the board.

Faculty and institutions of higher education

At the beginning of each academic year the General Directorate of Security decides on the number of students to be educated on behalf of the National Security Organization, and selects them among the ones already registered in the undergraduate programs of the universities in Ankara on a regular basis depending upon the fields of study in which the organization feels the need for the personnel. These selected students are also supposed to follow regular vocational training programs at summer training camps until they graduate from their universities. The ones who are successful both in their studies and vocational training programs are appointed to work in various departments of the General Directorate of Police Organization depending upon the fields of interests they have specialized in.

Police Vocational Schools of higher education

Police Vocational Schools are Police Academy--Affiliated Higher Education Institutions offering a two-year degree program to train police officers in the fields of interest such as police training, studies of law, social and cultural studies followed by practicum programs required for the degree concerned. There are currently 25 Police Vocational Schools across the country.