– No one is excited about having an office that is not staffed, says mayor Christian Sønstlien in Årdal in Sogn. It is rarely light at the newly renovated police station in the industrial village. The police spent over half a million kroner refurbishing the office. The office was ready in May last year and was to be open twice a week. After ten weeks, it nevertheless became clear that the police did not have the resources to keep the opening hours, writes Sogn Avis. The police advised not to have a police office in Årdal. Photo: Sondre Dalaker / news The local police officers in Årdal fought hard to stay in office when local police reform reduced the number of sheriff’s offices and police stations in Norway. But both Årdal and the neighboring municipality of Aurland lost their independent sheriff’s office in 2020. They were nevertheless compensated with their own branch office. Both offices now have no fixed opening hours. There is no record of how often the offices are actually open. Mayor of Aurland, Kjell Bøe Bjørgum (Ap), is upset about the situation. – It is tragic that we have reached the point where we have empty police offices, he says. The police initially did not want the office. – We don’t want to use our resources on locations, but to be accessible and visible, says the head of the police in Sogn og Fjordane, Dag Fiske. It was Sogn Avis that first wrote about the case. Dag Fiske is the head of the police in Sogn og Fjordane Photo: Martin Værum Anda / news Opening an office against the will of the police New police offices will pop up all over the country that the police do not want. The government will open 20 new police service stations before the end of 2024. The argument is to strengthen the local police. Nine new police service stations have already been opened. Five of them against the will of the local police. New police service stations will be opened here: 2022 2023 Engerdal, Innlandet Hvaler, summer season, Viken Meråker, Trøndelag Mortensrud, Oslo Salangen, Troms Sandefjord – Torp, Vestfold and Telemark Sigdal, South-East – Viken Steigen, Nordland Stranda – Geiranger (summer season), Møre and Romsdal 2024 Hemsedal (winter season), Viken Karlsøy, Troms Kvinesdal, Agder Levanger, Trøndelag Lillestrøm, Sørumsand, Viken Nesodden, Viken Rakkestad, Viken Sør-OdalInnlandet Vaksdal, Vestland Åseral, Agder Federal leader Unn Alma Skatvold in the Police Federation characterizes the opening as symbolic politics. She points out that there are already around 19 police offices which are completely empty, and around 30 offices where one or two people work. – I think it is completely backwards that we should spend time and resources to establish an office against all police professional advice, considering the budget situation we are in. According to Nettavisen, police chiefs were told at a meeting last week by police director Benedicte Bjørnland to calm down the rhetoric against Justice Minister Emilie Enger Mehl (Sp). In recent months, police officers have criticized Mehl for reopening police offices in more or less pig-infested areas. Unn Alma Skatvold in the Norwegian Police Union thinks the opening of new police stations is symbolic politics. Photo: Politiets Fellesforbund The police themselves believe that they need 1,600 new police officers to meet the staffing requirement. At the same time, more than half of newly graduated police officers are without a job. State Secretary Sigve Bolstad (Sp) wrote in an e-mail to news that it is important for the government to prioritize the police throughout the country. – The police must have a presence where people live in order to prevent and create safety. This is a political priority, at the same time the resources are allocated in each police district by each individual police chief. Want to keep the office The reason why the police offices in Årdal and Aurland are not staffed is that the police would rather be visible in the streets than have them in an office. In the villages, they now have so-called flexible opening hours at the police stations, so as not to tie the staff to the office. This means that the citizens can make an agreement with the police for a meeting at the police office. Mostly, the residents get a meeting within a week. And police offices in the neighboring villages seem to be holding out. – We are locked in a lease agreement and it is politically controlled that we will have the office, so there will be no change as of today, says Fiske.
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The police office in Årdal was renovated for half a million, but the police don’t want it – news Vestland
