Norwegian Police Service - Jurisdiction and Capabilities

Jurisdiction and Capabilities

Norway has a unified police, which means that there is a single police organization and that police power and prosecutor power is not granted to other agencies within Norway. The sole exception is the military police, albeit which only has jurisdiction over military personnel and on military installations, except during martial law. The police are decentralized and generalized to allow a more flexible resource allocation, while remaining under political control. This entails that police officers have no geographical or sector limitations to their powers. The Police Act and several special laws regulate the agencies and the officer's powers and responsibilities. The police are required to assist other public institutions, including the healthcare authorities, and can be asked by other agencies to assist when it is necessary to enact a decision by force. Conversely, the police can ask for assistance from the Coast Guard when necessary. The police are responsible for all responses against terrorism and sabotage unless Norway is under armed attack.

Responsibilities and functions related to security includes patrolling, continual emergency availability, highway patrolling, sea patrolling, coordination of search and rescue activities, embassy security and as a body guard service for members of the government, the royal family and other in need. The crime fighting responsibility is split between preventative measures, such as information, observation and controls, and consequential measures, such as investigation and prosecution. The police further have duties related to civilian court cases, such as writ of execution, evaluation of natural damage, assisting the courts after bankruptcies and functioning as a notary public.

The police have a series of functions related to public management, such as the issuing of passports, firearms licenses, police certificates, permissions for lotteries and withdrawal of driving licenses, approval of security guard companies and bouncers, recommendations to municipal councils for issuing alcohol sales licenses, approval of second-hand shops and arrangements which are otherwise unlawful, dealing with unowned dogs and animals in the care of people sentenced unsuitable to hold animals.

The police also have the responsibility for prisoner transport during detention, including transport to and from court. The police serve as border guards for the outer border of the Schengen Area. The busiest are Oslo Airport, Gardermoen, which has 130 man-years tied to it, Storskog on the Russian border and Sandefjord Airport, Torp. These are the only borders with designated border employees—all other are manned with regular officers. The police is not responsible for customs, which is the responsibility of the Norwegian Customs and Excise Authorities. Norway participates in a series of international police cooperation, such as Interpol, Europol, the Schengen Information System, Frontex, and the Baltic Sea Task Force on Organized Crime. Norway also has a close cooperation with the other Nordic police forces. The Norwegian Police Service occasionally participates in international operations.

In 2011 the police force had 746,464 assignments, the most common with 180,000 assignments being investigation cases, such as reported deaths, controls and reports of motor vehicle theft. This was followed by traffic assignments, public disturbance of peace, animal cases, theft, private disturbance of peace, and sickness and psychiatry. Seventy-five percent of assignments are solved with a single patrol, while ninety percent are solved with one and two. In armed situations only twenty percent are solved with a single patrol. In 2010 the Norwegian Police Service had 13 billion Norwegian krone in costs, of which seventy percent was used on wages. It employed 13,493 man-years, or 1.6 man-years per 1000 residents. There were 394,137 reported offenses, or 81.1 per 1000 people, of which 46 percent were solved. There were 5,399 debt settlements, 226,491 applications for writ of execution, 195,345 immigration cases and 4,615 forced returns.