11.07.2026 12:20
The long-awaited shift hour regulation for police officers is coming. In a statement on the matter, Minister of Interior Mustafa Çiftçi said they want to ease the working hours of police officers and noted that the current law has become insufficient for the organization. Minister Çiftçi also announced that he has given instructions regarding the purchase of housing lodgings.
Minister of Interior Mustafa Çiftçi made statements on the Weekend program hosted by Hakan Çelik on CNN Türk. Minister Çiftçi gave messages about the coming of a shift arrangement that police officers have dreamed of for years.
Çiftçi stated that they want to relieve police officers regarding shift schedules, and said the current law is starting to feel too narrow for the organization.
SHIFT ARRANGEMENT FOR POLICE
Regarding the regulation on shift hours and housing procurement, Minister Çiftçi said the following:
"Living conditions in Istanbul are more expensive compared to other provinces. We said, 'Let's go for housing procurement in Istanbul and allocate them to our police officers.' I gave the instruction. We continue to look. We will continue to purchase as we find. This year we are stopping vehicle purchases and will buy housing. We will start with 600 housing units as a beginning.
We want to make a regulation on working hours to relieve our police officers regarding shift schedules. After transitioning to the new shift system, we have efforts to make payments to those who work overtime. The current law is starting to feel too narrow for the organization. Regulations will be made," he said.
In his statement regarding the security measures taken for the NATO Summit, Minister Çiftçi stated that 56,288 police and gendarmerie personnel were on duty at the summit.
"WE COULD NOT HAVE JUSTIFIED A MEASURE WE DID NOT TAKE"
Çiftçi used the following expressions for the measures taken:
"The NATO summit was one of the biggest organizations in recent years. The previous one took place in Istanbul in 2004. In this summit, 56,288 police and gendarmerie personnel from our organization took part. We centered on Ankara. We had a core region in Ankara. A 3-layer and 3-stage protocol was implemented. The provinces around Ankara, surrounding the provinces, and our border cities. Our measures started one month in advance. When we entered the last 72 hours, we peaked. Some said it was exaggerated. We took as many measures as necessary. We got through it without any problems. We took as many measures as necessary. If we hadn't, they would have questioned it. We say it was an important summit. We could not have justified a measure we did not take."