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Former Labor Minister Knut Storberget launched in 2008 the goal of increasing the number of police officers to “two for each. thousand »inhabitants. Only now is the goal achieved, under a bourgeois government.
Since the early 2000s, the Storting has widely supported the need to improve police staffing. But only in 2020 will the goal of two police-years per year be reached. 1000 inhabitants in the country. Photo: Heiko Junge / NTB
Two man-years of police per 1,000 inhabitants has been a widely supported political ambition in the Storting since the early 2000s.
It was the leader of the Police Association, Arne Johannessen, who first launched the idea. He succeeded in involving the then Minister of Justice Knut Storberget in the idea that became a goal for the red-green government (2005-2013).
Only in the latter part of 2020 is the goal of ‘two for. thousand »reached.
This is demonstrated by the report of the Police Directorate (PD) for the second quarter of this year, which will be presented on Monday.
Mæland: a landmark year for the Norwegian police
Justice Minister Monica Mæland (H) believes that 2020 will be a historic year for the Norwegian police.
– This goal was set in 2008 when Storberget promised the largest police effort in Norway’s history. The discourse of the numbers remains clear: in 2013, we took on a police force that was long overdue. Year after year, we have given the police a higher priority than what the Labor Party did when it ruled, says Mæland.
Minister of Justice Monica Mæland (H). Photo: Jil Yngland
She says the Solberg government, after seven years, has implemented “deep structural changes to follow up on the Gjørv Commission report after 7/22”.
– We have strengthened the squad. We have more than 3,000 more employees in the police now than in 2013. There is a five-fold growth in police positions if the red-green government did.
At the same time it says that «two pr. thousand “is just a” lower table. “
– Now we have to discuss what competence the police need, be they engineers, computer scientists, psychologists or something else. In any case, we cannot use resources to rent more premises and create a local bureaucracy, as Sp wants.
She says there are more police officers on the job now than ever.
– Both on the street and in the data.
Johannessen: – A milestone
«Father» to the goal of «two for. a thousand, ”says Arne Johannesen, there is reason to applaud the government.
– This is fantastic and a historical landmark, says Johannessen.
He is currently the chief of police in Sogn og Fjordane.
Arne Johannessen headed the Norwegian Police Association from 2000 to 2013. It was he who launched the goal of two policemen-years per year. 1000 inhabitants. Now you want to increase the requirement to 2.25 “per. one thousand”. Photo: Sigurdsøn, Bjørn / NTB
At the same time, he says that achieving goals should not become a pillow.
– The objective was formulated at another time. Today we have completely different challenges. If we had formulated a new target figure today, we could have set it at 2.25 police officers.
It refers to a series of tasks that the police must solve today, such as no previously it was part of the police functions.
– There is more intoxication and psychiatry. We provide assistance to various public agencies. There is much more training and education for police officers. There has been a great growth in sexual abuse cases. And now we’re working on a digital track that was barely a track in the early 2000s.
According to the differences between districts
He also says that there are large local differences and that several police districts are below target. However, it is clear that it is not a goal all the districts will now be ‘two by. one thousand”.
– No. In some parts of the country there is less crime than, for example, is in Oslo. Here at Sogn og Fjordane we are at 1.1 man-years per. 1000. It’s low. But to demand «two pr. thousand ‘in Sogn og Fjordane is nonsense. But we probably should have gone up to 1.35-1.40, he says.
He also believes that the Police Directorate has been “creative in accounting” in recent years.
– The number of employees of the Police Academy is also included in the statistics. They weren’t before, says Johannessen.
Sp will reinforce the goals
The Center Party’s justice policy spokesperson in the Storting, Jenny Klinge, says’ two pr. thousand ”was a transversal goal.
– The red-green government increased the number of police students to 720 per. year from 2010. It was a doubling compared to 2006. It was absolutely crucial that the current government reached the goal.
Klinge believes that today it is natural to demand ‘two pr. one thousand” in every police district, not just for the country as a whole.
Jenny Klinge, Justice Policy Spokesperson at Sp. Photograph: Stian Lysberg Solum / NTB
– That is why we want to strengthen the bailiff’s offices and the police stations. And also create more. Mæland has an equally clear ambition to weaken many of the sheriff’s offices that remain after the centralization and reform of the local police force.
Response time requirements achieved
On Monday, the Norwegian Police Directorate will also release figures showing that the police, for the first time, are meeting national response time requirements.
In 2020, until September 1, the response time is as follows:
- Populations with less than 2000 inhabitants: 30 minutes.
- Populations of less than 20,000 inhabitants: 19 minutes.
- Populations of more than 20,000 inhabitants: 11 minutes.
This is a small improvement over 2019 and only within the response time requirements set by PD in 2017.
PD’s four-month report also indicates that 97.9 percent of all calls to the 112 emergency number are answered within 20 seconds. It is an improvement over the first four months. It was 98.2. The requirement set by PD is 95 percent.
