Police officer resigns over workplace bullying

Senior constable Ella Varis has resigned from the police force in Finland, citing persistent workplace bullying as the reason for her departure, as first reported by Iltalehti.

In a YouTube video, Varis said she left her position in early June after careful consideration and of her own accord. She described the bullying as including hateful comments from colleagues, backbiting, belittlement, and even targeted harassment. She also reported experiencing misogyny, dismissal of her work, envy, and questioning of her social media efforts.

“The belittlement is tied to my femininity, and there were doubts about my credibility as a police officer. Some thought I started doing social media because I couldn’t handle fieldwork,” Varis said in the video.

Some of the harassment was anonymous, which Varis found particularly distressing as she could not identify who within the department had filed written complaints against her. According to Yle, two misconduct reports were submitted against Varis last year, with an anonymous complainant alleging she sought personal gain from her police role. The reports were directed to the Southwest Finland Police Department.

Varis began her social media work as a police officer in January 2025, initially creating an account under the name “poliisiella” on Snapchat as part of the Koulu25 project, led by the Southwest Finland Police Department. The project aimed to improve legal education and police engagement with young people through online lessons. She later expanded to Instagram and TikTok.

Under her personal account, her content now attracts significant attention, with some videos reaching 100,000–150,000 views and others millions. Following her resignation, Varis plans to continue producing social media content, creating educational material, and visiting schools.

Yle has not received comments from Varis or the Southwest Finland Police Department on the matter.