| National Police Directorate Politi- og lensmannsetaten |
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| Common name | Politi |
| Badge of the National Police Directorate. | |
| Agency overview | |
|---|---|
| Employees | 11,000 |
| Legal personality | Governmental: Government agency |
| Jurisdictional structure | |
| National agency | Norway |
| General nature | |
| Operational structure | |
| Minister responsible | Grete Faremo, Norwegian Ministry of Justice and the Police |
| Agency executive | Øystein Mæland, National Police Commissioner |
| Parent agency | Police Department |
| National units | 7 |
| Politidistrikt (Police District)s | 27 politidistrikt |
| Website | |
| Norwegian English |
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The Norwegian Police Service (Norwegian: Politi- og lensmannsetaten) is the official police force in Norway which are run by the Minister of Justice and Police. The department consists of 27 regional areas and seven national special forces. The department has about 11,000 employees.
The police districts consist of police stations and district offices. Police stations are led by a chief of police who is responsible for the geographical district around his precinct. Each police regional district has its own police commissioner who is the leader of that district's police practice.
The Norwegian Prosecuting Authority is partially integrated with the police. The police officers investigate the crime, and in most cases the police attorneys working in the Prosecuting Authority in the police decide if they should take the case to court, and then argue the case. In the most serious cases, prosecution is handled directly by the Public Prosecutors, who are not part of the police.
The Norwegian Military Police and Home Guard have authority over civilians only in a few situations, and leave criminal investigation to the civilian police service. Some military and civilian agencies also have limited police authority to direct traffic and stop and search persons and vehicles (such as vehicle safety inspections, or hunting and fishing inspections). If a violation is found, the case is forwarded to the police service for investigation.
The police are also a part of the Norwegian rescue service and are responsible for leading the rescue work on accidents and disasters. This is especially an issue in the western part of Norway where there can be rather extreme weather at sea. This work is being done via two main dispatch centrals in Stavanger and Bodø. In this work, the police can request assistance from military and civilian agencies, as well as from non-governmental organizations.
Norwegian police do not carry firearms on a daily basis; they keep them locked down in the patrol cars, and if need arises they have to get permission by the police commissioner or someone authorized by him or her. If there is no time to contact a superior, a police officer may arm himself and anyone under his command. From 1994 to 2004 the Norwegian police fired approximately 79 shots; 48 of these were fired during the Nokas Robbery in 2004. [1]
As a part of the anti-terror work after the September 11, 2001 attacks, every regional area has its own mobile unit which is specially trained to handle these types of missions.
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Royal Ministry of Justice and Police
The Norwegian Police Service labour union, Politiets Fellesforbund, have been full member of European Confederation of Police, EuroCOP, since the constitution in 2002. The union have 12,000 member, close to all the employees of the National Police Force, from all police units and special units, of all police ranks.
In 2009, the union was in a disagreement with the Norwegian government, the Norwegian Ministry of Justice and Police and the National Police Directorate over working conditions and wage. As a result of an unresolved situation, at 27. January 2009, 12,000 police officers in Norway participated national 90-minutes strike. The union was protesting against the government’s decision to control police work hours without negotiating with their representatives, and prolonging the periode of the current Police Commissioner .[2] The Police Union called for Justice and Police Minister Knut Storberget to resign.[2] 25. March 2009 4,000 uniformed members of the Norwegian Police Service union paraded the main streets of Oslo in a protest march to the Norwegian Parliament.[3][4][5] The police union is using the term police crisis to describe the situation. The counter part is using the term illegal wage negotiation.
The death of Eugene Ejike Obiora, a naturalized Norwegian of Nigerian origin in September 2006 was followed by criticism that caused the authorities to announce changes to the way charges of police brutality and other forms of police misconduct, including corruption involving the Norwegian police will be handled in the future.
In 2011, the Police District of Oslo said they were sorry for "not having followed the book" during a non-consentual police search of doctor Shuaib Lwasa (a United Nations employee).[6]
¹ Attorney.
A total of 23 police officers have been killed or died in service (including traffic accidents) since World War II.[9][10]
Volkswagen Passat continued as the official patrol car in 2011, as a result of a call for bids that was questionable (omdiskutert)[11] according to Aftenposten.