– I am a strong supporter of more police and better preparedness. But you don’t get that by spending money on buildings. It is not the buildings that provide preparedness, but people, cars and equipment, says police chief in Sogn og Fjordane, Arne Johannessen, to news. He is reacting to the news news reported this morning that the government will open a number of new police offices to fulfill one of the Center Party’s election promises from last year. The reversal of cuts in police offices has been announced. It comes after the neighborhood police reform reduced the number of service locations. Norway went from 340 to 217 places of service during the reform carried out by the Solberg government. Now the government wants to reopen 9 new duty stations for the police, including on Mortensrud in the east of Oslo where there has not been a duty station before. Minister of Justice Emilie Enger Mehl visited mayor Anne Kristine Normann in Sigdal this morning, one of the places that will now have a new police station. Photo: Elisabeth Tøtte Hansen / news The former head of the union in the Police Federation, who is now police chief in Sogn og Fjordane, believes new local offices are the wrong way to go. – People are not interested in meeting at the office for anything other than applying for passports and other administrative tasks. According to Johannessen, Sogn og Fjordane has closed 7 local police offices in recent years. He says there has been no pressure to get them back. – This is retrospective policy and not forward-looking. Johannessen is concerned that the police in many places may be less effective in the future. – In my view, this is the wrong use of money. The police in many police districts must reduce the number of positions in relation to 2022. We still have a great need for technology upgrades and other investments. In my view, it is very old-fashioned thinking to focus so much on office buildings. Johannessen says the number of visitors to the local offices in his own county is steadily decreasing. Online patrol and chat have taken over much of the low-threshold contact with the public. – No young people go to a public office to report abuse. They want to talk to the police in a different way. – We do that much better with a combination of technology where people can contact the police via chat or video conference, and where we have police patrols that can come when the public needs it. – It is a combination of the two things – technological solutions and more patrolling – which would have more effect than opening an office. – Gone prestige Johannessen believes the government has ignored clear professional advice from the Norwegian Police Directorate. – In my view, prestige has gone into this. This is, after all, in the Hurdal platform, and is an issue the Center Party is familiar with in the negotiations that they must deliver on. – But here you don’t listen to advice. That’s why I say that I think prestige has gone into this. – In my view, it’s symbolic politics. There are other measures that would have given more power to District Norway than this.
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– Misuse of money – news Norway – Overview of news from different parts of the country
