Oslo, Violence | Police summit on the wave of violence: – Understands the concerns, the insecurity and the seriousness

In recent days, there have been four incidents in which three people, two of them under the age of 19, have been seriously injured after stabbings and shootings in Oslo.

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– We understand the concerns

The top police officer in Oslo, Grete Lien Metlid, tells Nettavisen that there is no doubt that the police are taking the events in Oslo seriously recently.

– We understand the concerns, the insecurity and the seriousness this creates in people.

The police chief says that they are working as best we can and approach this as well as the police can. She says that they therefore have more police officers out and that the cases have a high priority in the police district.

– It is a big concern that there are very young boys and men who resort to the use of weapons and violence. It has serious consequences for those who are behind it and those who are exposed to it, says Metlid.

Sees no connection between the cases

What the four cases mentioned have in common is that they have taken place in the public domain. One of Norway’s busiest taxi ranks, a nursery school, a lively city center street and the premises of a popular nightclub – have all been the scene of serious incidents.

Metlid says that the police do not see any connection between these cases beyond the fact that they happened recently and in the public domain, but she emphasizes that the cases are still under investigation.

– An investigation is underway and it is important to say that arrests have already been made. It is important to clarify the issues in order to prevent conflicts from escalating and turning into spirals of violence.

Metlid says that since all of the cases mentioned are under investigation, it is difficult to say anything concrete about them at the present time.

– I will not go into details about the individual case, but in general when it comes to the latest events in Oslo, it looks as of now that these may be personal conflicts and incidents that are based on things that happen then and there. History and conflicts are also the basis for several of them.

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In a period with many cases

Metlid says that the Oslo police take serious incidents of violence in public spaces very seriously and that she understands that this creates insecurity for those who live and travel in Oslo.

– We work in many areas to prevent, we do that all year round and there are also many incidents that we believe we prevent. But we are now in a period where we have received several cases close together in time, without us seeing any connection between them, says Metlid and adds:

– We also know that from time to time we get conflicts and episodes of violence linked to people in criminal environments and that there is increased activity in parts of the year. Based on experience, we know that this can often come in connection with the spring months.

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– Many must contribute here

The police chief also has a clear appeal to people in Oslo. Although the police have put in place many measures – such as being more visible in the city, being closer and following me on the conflicts – this is a job the police cannot do on their own.

– In general, the police will not be able to solve this alone. We have an important role when serious incidents occur, but the job of prevention requires effort from society at large. Here, many people must contribute to prevent us from getting young people involved in serious incidents.