In the summer of 2021, I spent a lot of my time in meetings with the police. Several welcomed me, and my agenda was to listen to professionals so that we politicians could find solutions for a safer capital.
The police reform was supposed to give us local police. It didn’t happen. Instead, we see more crime, especially among young people. Here are suggestions from me as county leader in DNI that can remedy some of this.
More substance abuse consultants
There should be a drug counselor in every district of Oslo. Experience shows that in those districts that have more such drug consultants, drug and crime rates among young people are reduced. More drug consultants should therefore be deployed in each district.
We can take the money from the environmental parties, outdoor furniture and the painting account of the city council. This is where we need to spend money and not on pig red asphalt. This is a much more important use of Oslo people’s tax money.
No police stations must be closed down
It is very important that the police are available where people live. Local police know the conditions and can much more easily intervene and prevent gang crime before it develops. It is therefore absolutely crucial that police stations are not closed down.
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Young people at risk don’t get respect for a police force they don’t see.
More police officers out in the streets
Visibility has always been effective. Young people at risk don’t get respect for a police force they don’t see. More police officers must therefore take to the streets. Today we hardly see a policeman on the streets, this is preventive and should be prioritized.
I have always had respect for the police, but unfortunately it seems that many young people today lack this respect. I often hear and we see on social media that the police do not get much praise. It’s just sad and we have to rebuild it. They have too few employees and several of those who are educated do not get work as police. We can all imagine what the reason is, they lack money. There are approximately 10,000 police in our country who must look after all 5.4 million.
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Telephone lines must be manned 24 hours a day
Local police must be reachable by telephone. Two years ago, Majorstuen police station temporarily shut down its telephone line to the prevention department. This is yet another example of the new local police reform not working. There were not enough resources to answer incoming calls. Amazing.
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This is important as everyone living in Oslo must be able to get hold of the police. It is particularly difficult for the sick and disabled who cannot easily get down to the station.
I myself have experienced being rejected at the police station. Was going to report a theft, stood in line for a while and was sent back home to report online. I don’t think it was right as I needed to talk to the police.
Longer opening hours
Crime does not only happen between the hours of 8.00 and 16.00 and it is not always as easy for the public to contact the police during the day. Therefore, there is a need for longer opening hours than many have today. In other countries, police stations are open 24 hours a day.
We have a lot to tackle here and we have to start somewhere. So let’s bring in more police and show that together we can have a safer country where everyone can move without being afraid.
When I was growing up, I had no fear of traveling in my city, unfortunately I do today. In my 53 years, I have never been afraid until now. I keep reading in the media about stabbings, murders and unrest and this scares me enormously. We have always been a safe country, we are no longer.
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Several municipalities are struggling with drug problems and crime. Time for us to wake up so that we don’t get the Swedish conditions that we are well on our way towards.
(Stemmer is ABC Nyheter’s debate section. Here, regular and occasional contributors write about current news topics. We also have a collaboration with the political online newspaper Altinget.no. If you are burning with an opinion or analysis, you can send the text to [email protected], then we will evaluate it).
