Assistant chief of the Police Security Service (PST) Inga Bejer Engh is clear when she talks to news on Wednesday morning: – We see that the prevention work we are doing is becoming increasingly demanding. It is a task that we in PST, the police and the security service cannot manage alone. And today’s legislation for sharing information across agencies makes the work even more demanding, says Engh. – For as long as I have worked as a lawyer, the confidentiality rules have been a headache. The rules make it more difficult when several sectors have to work together to counter radicalization and extremism, says Engh to news. She says PST is now particularly concerned about two groups: young people and the mentally ill. – That is also the reason why we are so clear about this now. More actions aimed at young people On 13 June this year, PST carried out a coordinated action against young people across the country. The teenagers who were visited by civilian PST employees are said to have, among other things, called for terror and the murder of homosexuals. PST had long followed what they believe to be a network that spreads far-right expressions and propaganda online. The network consisted of young people under the age of 12 and young adults in their mid-20s. In an e-mail to news, PST informs that they will have more such conversations in the future. – The operation was carried out in June, but is still ongoing, Engh writes in an e-mail to news. PST says they consider the operation successful so far. – One of our goals was to help the young people out of a phase that could later cause major problems for them. PST was supposed to be part of a solution, and in several cases we see that they understood the seriousness and withdrew from the digital networks, says Engh. Other young people they spoke to will continue to follow up in the future. – We will have more conversations with radicalized minors we are concerned about, writes Engh. In connection with the action, news’s readers could ask PST questions about the radicalization of young people. You can read the questions and answers from PST here. Will do as Denmark Engh emphasizes that the duty of confidentiality between, for example, GP, psychologist, school and Nav is there to safeguard privacy. At the same time, she says that current legislation can often put an end to good cooperation. – If the healthcare system is concerned, child protection is concerned and the school is concerned, then in some cases they do not get to share information between them, says Engh. She believes Norway should look to Denmark for good solutions. – There they have structures that make it possible for agencies to share information in cases where there is concern about radicalisation. – Does the person then no longer have the right to privacy? – Then perhaps privacy should perhaps be weighed against other considerations, answers Engh. Inga Bejer Engh, photographed here in news’s Dagsnytt studio, believes Norway should look to Denmark for rules for sharing personal information. Photo: Eirin Tjoflot / news – The rules are not good enough The discussion around the sharing of information in such cases has been relevant for many years. Engh is nevertheless optimistic that the rules can now be changed, and points out that the government itself asked for advice and established the Extremism Commission two years ago. The commission submitted its report to the government in March. They then came up with 40 recommendations for how Norway can better prevent radicalization and the rise of extremism. The report pointed to several reasons why the problem is not handled well enough. One of the weaknesses was a lack of cooperation. The commission went through twenty individual cases related to serious violent extremism. In all cases, the persons had been in contact with the service apparatus, without the authorities talking to each other. – The commission made clear recommendations that, within certain frameworks where you have a fixed collaboration, you should be able to share more information, says Engh. – And then it is, in a way, an acknowledgment that the rules we have today are not good enough. Published 10.07.2024, at 19.36
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PST will be able to share more personal information in preventive work – news Norway – Overview of news from different parts of the country
