Crisis throughout according to the police

Police at work.Photo: Heiko Junge / NTB scanpix

Crisis throughout Norway according to the police

Union representatives in eleven of twelve police districts report of crisis-like conditions. They indicate that gross abuse cases are left open and of a sky-high workload.

 

Of the twelve districts, which were made after the Near-Police Reform was enforced, union representatives from eleven districts warn about insufficient staff and cases left open in a survey made by NRK. The cases are often involving violence and sexual assault.

– We have serious cases involving violence from 2016 that have not been wrapped up. For a period we had a queue of almost ten persons waiting to report being raped, says Øyvind Sund, local union leader of the police union in Møre og Romsdal to the canal.

Representatives from the Troms police district are the only ones not warning about problems.

The Ministry of Justice and Emergency Planning did not want to be interviewed by NRK but responded via an e-mail.

– The near-police reform is comprehensive, and it is natural that the implementation of the reform presents some challenges. The Government takes this seriously, but we are convinced that the reform is necessary for the police to be able to solve their social mission and meet the crime challenges that we face, says Secretary of State, Knut Morten Johansen (Progress Party).

 

© NTB scanpix / #Norway Toda