The case summed up During the first week of 2024, there were five murders in Norway. Also in 2023, there were an unusually high number of murders. The National Unit for Forensic Psychiatry has received several inquiries from the police about incidents that may be linked to psychosis. In the last ten years, several murders have been committed by people with psychosis, something that can be blamed on the closure of beds for people with mental disorders. Most murders occur in January and October. Most suicides occur in the spring. In the last 30 years, there has been a slight but steady decline in murders in Norway. The summary is made by an AI service from OpenAI. The content is quality assured by news’s journalists before publication. It was a brutal start to the year in several places in the country. A week into the new year, several police districts already have five murders to investigate: In the last 30 years, there has been a slight but steady decline in murders in Norway. This is how many murder cases there have been since 2012: – Unusual Professor and psychologist Solveig Vatnar at SIFER says that it is not surprising that several murders have occurred in a short period of time. – It is unusual for so many people to lose their lives in such a short time due to murder in Norway. Nevertheless, she says that it is too early to say whether the events have anything to do with the turn of the year. In the last 30 years, there has been a slight but steady decline in murders in Norway, says professor and psychology specialist Solveig Vatnar. Photo: Marit Kolberg / news There are few murders in Norway. This means that it is not easy to see a pattern when murders occur. – When a phenomenon has a low incidence, the distribution during the year will be more random than for a phenomenon with a high incidence, according to the psychologist specialist. Outside Straumen school in Sørfold, the flag was at half mast on 2 January after three people were found dead in a house. Photo: Ola Helness / news But the head of the National Unit for Forensic Psychiatry, Svein Øverland, thinks it is more likely that it is about Christmas than the turn of the year. – During the festive season, people are pressured to be together, even if they don’t like each other. Alcohol is often linked to murder, he says. – In that sense, Christmas is a situation where there can be conflicts during the day, and it can be a close combination, says Øverland. More requests for assistance In 2023, there were an unusually high number of murders. The high number makes Øverland uneasy. In December 2023, they received more inquiries than ever from the police about incidents that may be related to psychosis. They are contacted in serious incidents such as murder, but also in cases of arson and rape, if the police suspect that the incident is linked to serious mental disorders. Each year they receive around 1,400 inquiries. In December last year, they received 147 requests for assistance. It is the highest figure in a month ever. – We usually get between 110 and 120 inquiries. So there is a fairly large percentage increase, says Øverland. The police have not said anything about whether they suspect that any of the murders in 2024 are linked to psychiatry. – Several murders committed by persons with psychosis Øverland says that Norwegian research is beginning to show disturbing tendencies linked to murder. – In the last ten years, several murders have been committed by persons with psychosis, says Øverland. He believes it is linked to the closure of beds for people with mental disorders. – We in forensic psychiatry find that frightening. But it is important to add that most people with psychotic disorders are not guilty of murder, he says. Svein Øverland says that in December 2023, the National Unit for Forensic Psychiatric Experts received more inquiries than ever before. Photo: Petter Strøm / news In 23 years, 42 percent of the psychiatric inpatient beds in Norway were removed. This corresponds to a cut of over 2,500 beds from 1998 to 2021. In the last four decades, 60 per cent of overnight beds in Finland, Sweden and Denmark have disappeared. Finnish researchers at Oulu University Hospital have looked at how this transition has worked in Finland. One of the researchers is doctoral student Efran Jahangiri. – It indicates that people with mental disorders do not get the service they need from the polyclinics, he says. Most murders in January and October In the last five years, NERS has also seen a pattern in when they receive the most inquiries. – January and October are the months when we are contacted the most. This means that these are the months when there are the most murders or other serious incidents that the police suspect are related to psychosis. In the residence in Sørfold, three people were found murdered on the night of New Year’s Day. Photo: Ola Helness / news Øverland also sees other patterns in suicide and psychosis. – There are around 700 suicides a year. Many of those who take their own lives do so in the spring and summer. Psychosis, on the other hand, is most common in late summer. In the murders in Sørfold and Elverum, the police suspect that the perpetrators took their own lives after the murder. Also in Stavern, they are investigating whether it could be a murder or a suicide. Will have a greater focus on the perpetrators Homicide researcher at the University of Oslo Vibeke Ottesen also points out that it is unusual to have so many murders in such a short time, as we have seen in the first week of 2024. She still believes that there is no connection. – All murders have their reasons, and different categories of murder have their typical reasons. In the case of partner murder committed by men, it is usually cohabitation initiated by the woman, but it can also be financial. Often these men are suicidal and take partners and often children with them to death, she tells news. Homicide researcher Vibeke Ottesen thinks it is a coincidence that the year started with so many murders. Photo: Petter Sommer / news She therefore believes that we must have a strong focus on the perpetrator’s needs. – For example, the focus we have had in the last week on reverse violence alarm. So that the person who has exposed others to violence, has exposed others to stalking, must go with a violence alarm.
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Unrest over increase in murders – thinks Christmas may be a trigger – news Nordland
