History
Police training in Turkey is based on a long-established tradition from both the Ottoman Empire and the Republic of Turkey. The modern vocational training can be traced back to the formation of the first civilianized police organization, which was established in 1879 under the umbrella of the Ottoman Empire’s Ministry of Security Forces . The Police School launched in Istanbul under the Ministry of Security Forces as per the decree dated 29 March 1891 can be named as the first modern institution offering professional police training in Turkey.
Police training institutions became more institutionalized in the early 20th century. To maintain security and order, the first police school was opened in 1907 in Selanik (Salonika) as part of the gendarmerie within the scope of police reform made in the Rumelia region, which was then disturbed by gangs. The progress in police training also continued during the Second Constitutional Period, in which the Dersaadet (Istanbul) Police School was opened. In the following years, new police schools were founded in other big cities.
In the Republic of Turkey, aside from the establishment of new police schools, a fundamental change was made in police training, which was the establishment of Ankara Police Institute on 6 November 1937. Ankara Police Institute was the predecessor of today’s Police Academy. The duration of training, which was initially one year, was increased in 1941 to two years, in 1962 to three years, and after 1980 to four years. In 1984 the institute was renamed as the Turkish National Police Academy (TNPA) and gained the status of a higher education institution providing vocational training. TNPA gained the university status in 2001.
With the legal amendments made in 2015, TNPA adopted a new educational model in consideration of the demands of the time and the education systems of developed countries. Pursuant to this change, TNPA has focused on a shorter yet more intensive training program and built a much stronger system in academic and technical terms.
TNPA continues to take new steps to develop itself through scientific studies and to fulfill its historical and national responsibility with its educational approach.