Eight of the country’s police districts must now pay out because they have not followed the law. The Norwegian police use interpreters on a daily basis who can help them understand foreign speakers. Annually, they buy interpreting services for around NOK 50 million. Now they receive a fee because they have not followed the rules for public procurement from June 2018 to 2020. The East police district alone receives a fee of almost NOK 2.3 million. Here is the whole list: East police district: NOK 2,285,000 Oslo police district: NOK 1,702,000 West police district: NOK 1,354,000 South-West police district: NOK 1,024,000 South-East police district: NOK 978,000 Agder police district: NOK 449,000 Nordland police district: NOK 265,000 Finnmark police district: NOK 169,000 Previously, Møre og Romsdal police district and Trøndelag police district received a fee of well over two million kroner. Thus, Troms and Innlandet are the only police districts not on the list. – Illegal direct purchases are contrary to the requirement in the regulations for announcement, which is based on considerations of equal treatment and competition. It is considered the most serious offence, writes section head Line Rakner in the Complaints Board secretariat. The police are not agreed The criticism from the Complaints Board for Public Procurement (Kofa) is about the fact that the police have not ensured that those who wish can ask for the job of interpreting. Such assignments must be announced publicly. Department director Marianne Haahjem in the Police’s joint services wrote in an e-mail that “The police are taking KOFA’s assessments in this case into account”. Haahjem has previously argued to Kofa that the police often have a “time-critical need for an interpreter”. The police also argued that each individual assignment must be assessed individually, and not collectively. – We have had an assessment that is different from Kofa, but we must take note that they think our assessment is wrong, Haahjem has previously told news. The court has also determined that the police have interpreted the regulations incorrectly. The question in court was whether interpreting services throughout the year should be seen as one purchase, or whether each order was purchased separately. The conclusion was the first, and thus the purchase of interpreting services was to be announced. Marianne Haahjem, department director in the Police’s joint services. Photo: Olav Døvik / news – Grossly careless It is Kofa that has investigated the cases, and which concludes by giving the eight police districts a fee. Already this summer they announced the historic fee. In the rulings, it is stated that Kofa regards the situation in which the police have been guilty as grossly negligent for several of the police districts: “Public clients are expected to have a thorough knowledge of the regulations for public procurement. Relatively strict requirements must therefore generally be placed on the client’s diligence. The notification obligation and the prohibition against illegal direct procurement are at the core of the regulations. Expect more from the police Marianne H. Dragsten is a lawyer and expert in public procurement. She believes the police should have handled the regulations better. – It can be difficult for a non-lawyer, but one must be able to expect that the police, which is a large, public client, has the legal expertise to enable them to assess this, she says. news has been in contact with the owner of the company, who complained to the police before the tribunal. He does not wish to comment on the historical fees. Marianne H. Dragsten is a lawyer and expert in public procurement. She believes the police should have had better competence. Photo: Vaar Advokat
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Kofa gives the police millions in fees after illegal purchases of interpreting services – news Møre og Romsdal – Local news, TV and radio
