– The main challenge was that we had installed glass that was too dark in the boat. That meant we had a ban on use. Dark, sooty windows have meant that the police boat in Stavanger has not been approved for use in the evening and at night. In addition, there has been a lack of police officers with a certificate to drive the boat. Last year, the police received six boats of the same type, Marell M12. They are distributed along the coast, from Oslo to Nordland. The price tag per boat is around NOK 7 million. The current status is that the boat in Nordland has not yet had the switch to clear windows. The boats in the Oslo and West Police District have problems with too high values for measurements of petrol vapour. These are currently out of service. In addition, faults with the electricity, water leaks from the roof and a leaky toilet are some of the challenges the police have faced with their new boats, writes Politiforum (external link). This is the new police boat: – The speed is a trade secret, so don’t try to run away, says officer Naley. The boat is 13.8 meters long. Boats over twelve meters cannot have sooty windows. The two outboard motors at the back have 600 horsepower each. Photo: Øystein Otterdal Used in various assignments – For our part, there have been some children’s illnesses from the boat, which I personally think is to be expected from a new type of boat. Police chief in the Sør-West police district, Sveinung Fjelltun, is putting the bumpy entrance behind him, and is rather happy to have been given a compact and handy platform to work from. Now the dirty windows have been replaced, and police officers have been trained over the winter. Here is the police boat in Bergen with sooty windows. The photo was taken in 2023. Photo: Cato Heldal Kristensen – I had expected that there would be things that needed to be improved along the way, which has been done continuously. Now it’s starting to look good. He believes the new grant will prove to be very useful. – For us, this means quite a lot. We have municipalities that are not connected to the mainland, and larger islands with many inhabitants. – Apart from normal law enforcement missions, we also take on urgent missions where we put patrols on board the boat and transport them out to the islands. We have everything necessary for patrol equipment, and can do all kinds of missions. Superintendent of Police Sveinung Fjelltun was not surprised by the reefs in the sea during the run-in of the new boat. Photo: Øystein Otterdal / Øystein Otterdal Several people receive fines The effect of a police boat in full operation also shows in the statistics. This explains the head of traffic and sea in the South-West police district, Trond Atle Bjelland. – We have printed many more submissions in the last month, after the boat came into full operation. Last month we were up to eleven fines, and so far we are up to 39. The statistics also show that so far in July, four times as many fines have been imposed for not wearing a life jacket as in the whole of June. Trond Atle Bjelland says that it is planned that the police boat will be at sea a lot this summer. Photo: Øystein Otterdal / news Positive boat people Ingve Knutsvik is moored in Vågen in central Stavanger. He is happy about the police’s increased presence at sea. – It is nice to see them at sea now. They have been absent for a little while, so I think that is positive. He believes that the knowledge that the police are patrolling both land and sea will cause people to think twice before taking the last pint. – I think it is very preventive. It provides security that the police are active at sea. Ingve Knutsvik (nearest) thinks it’s only good that the police get to see the lake more often. Photo: Øystein Otterdal / news Newly trained police officer One of the police officers who has taken coastal skipper’s certificate D6, and is therefore qualified to pilot the new boat, is Aleksander Naley. He has until now been a familiar face along the roads in Rogaland. Now he can also be found at sea. Although asphalt has been replaced with waves, the tasks are quite similar. – It is much the same. We have a contingency plan at sea, should something happen. But we also have controls on land, and see if people have things in order. That they are not too drunk, that they have vests on, and that lanterns are in order. If Naley is to be believed, people mostly have trouble meeting the new police boat. – Most people are very positive about meeting us. We want to have a pleasant tone with everyone. But if there is someone who does not have clean flour in the bag, has drunk too much or does not have things in order, there will be reactions. It is a completely natural part of our job. Police officer Aleksander Naley works on the police boat this summer. Photo: Øystein Otterdal / news Published 03.08.2024, at 08.13
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The police acquired new million-dollar boats, but were banned from using them. – news Rogaland – Local news, TV and radio
