– Long before the incident, I thought that the equipment we had was fatally bad, says Jens Berget. In 1998, he was a sharpshooter in the police in Nordland. He was one of nine police officers who went to Austbø on the night of 11 March. The mission was to get control of a psychiatric patient who was out on leave on the small island. But instead, Austbø ended up being the scene of one of the most brutal police killings in Norwegian history. Had to borrow equipment Berge was himself equipped with a rifle from the Second World War. The killer, on the other hand, had obtained a state-of-the-art hunting rifle. – The equipment and how we are rigged, both operationally and in terms of training, is something completely different today than it was back then, says Jens Berget. Before the police moved out to Austbø, they had to borrow night goggles from the Norwegian Armed Forces, and camouflage and communication equipment from other police districts. But in retrospect, the tragedy at Austbø, which ended with two people losing their lives, has led to changes in the police. IMPRESSED: Jens Berget is impressed by how the police are set up today. Photo: Lars-Petter Kalkenberg / news – Together with a number of other serious incidents, the Austbø incident has led to a gradual development and conscious training in handling this type of situation, says Håkon Skulstad, assistant director of the Norwegian Police Directorate. Several major changes He highlights several things that have changed in the police since the murders at Austbø in 1998. The employees of the police have received personal equipment, both in the form of weapons and protective equipment. The service vehicles are equipped for both personal equipment and additional equipment for sharp assignments. All police stations are equipped with the same equipment to handle sharp assignments. In that way, there should be no geographical differences in preparedness. All police districts have emergency units available at all times. As part of the basic training, the police train much more in dealing with mentally unstable and ill people than before. Electric shock weapons are being rolled out to the Norwegian police. – This way we avoid using lethal shots with weapons when we get into a difficult situation. After all, we are here to help people, says Skulstad. A LOT OF PSYCHIATRY: Håkon Skulstad, assistant director of the Norwegian Police Directorate, says that they often see psychiatric patients. Photo: Heidi Klokk / news Jens Berget believes that the Norwegian police are currently the most professional and best trained police in the world. – It is very nice to hear that he who was involved at Austbø has that experience, says Håkon Skulstad in the Norwegian Police Directorate. – We have worked for several decades to build up our preparedness stone by stone. I have met many police forces both in Europe and elsewhere, and I think we can say that we are probably one of the better police forces. – Could the tragedy at Austbø have been avoided if it had happened today? – I dare not speculate on that. We can at least say that we have learned a lot from both that case and other cases. Jens Berget, on the other hand, is more confident in his case. – We could have approached the assignment in a different way. We don’t know the final outcome, but the conditions would have been completely different, and in that sense it is likely that the outcome would have been different, he says. The two who were killed at Austbø in 1998: Sigurd WangLensmann47 yearsMarried with two childrenActive in local sports and the football team as a coachMunicipal politician for VenstreTrond KirkebyLensmann’s first officer41 yearsPartner and father of three daughtersOriginally from HamarStrong contributor to the local football community in SandnessjøenInvolved in trade union work
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The police have made major changes after two policemen were killed in Austbø – news Nordland
