Police chiefs changed in 52 provinces

ANKARA

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has made 83 appointments within the General Directorate of Security, which has resulted in the replacement of police chiefs in 52 of all 81 provinces across the country.

Among the changes, the police chiefs of 24 other provinces have been transferred to the headquarters.

The appointments were published in the Official Gazette on Aug. 2, and the changes saw significant shifts in leadership positions across various cities. Notably, Ankara, İzmir, Muğla, Bursa and Hatay were among the cities that witnessed changes in their police chiefs.

Engin Dinç, the former police chief of Konya, has been assigned as the new police chief for Ankara. Meanwhile, Celal Sel, who previously served as the Elazığ provincial police chief, has been appointed to the İzmir Provincial Police Department.

As part of the restructuring, the police chiefs of Ankara and İzmir will now report directly to the general directorate.

Ahmet Arıbaş, who served as the Hatay provincial police chief, has been transferred to Samsun. Similarly, Ali Canbolat, the former Bingöl police chief, will now serve as the police chief of Muğla.

The head of the directorate's intelligence department, Sabit Akın Zaimoğlu, has been assigned to Bursa, while the city's provincial police chief, Tacettin Aslan, has been placed under the command of the general directorate.

In another key move, Hasan Yiğit, the head of the anti-terrorism unit, has been appointed as the Balıkesir provincial police chief.

Moreover, 29 provinces will welcome new police chief inspectors to their police directorates.

Further changes were made in the high-ranking positions as well. Former Samsun police chief Ömer Urhal has been appointed as deputy chief of police.

Additionally, the Deputy General Directorate of Security will now see the inclusion of figures such as Mahmut Çorumlu, who will be in charge of the fight against smuggling and organized crime unit, as well as Selami Yıldız and Caner Tarfur, both serving as chief inspectors of police.

Among the other provinces affected by the changes in police chief positions are Zonguldak, Çanakkale, Isparta, Erzurum, Rize, Trabzon, Malatya, Kahramanmaraş, Şanlıurfa, Adıyaman, Gaziantep, Tunceli, Ağrı, Bingol, Bitlis, Hakkari, Mardin and Muş.