904 applicants for a position in the Oslo police – The atmosphere among the students is bad – NRK Troms and Finnmark

– When the politicians have said for several years that they are working to strengthen the police, then you become incredibly frustrated when you come to the end of the education course and meet a door that is closed.

That’s what police student and leader of the Police Federation’s local team for students at the Police Academy, Alexander Stokkedal, says.

In a short time, 400 new police students will be fully trained and ready for working life.

– There is simply nothing else I want to do. I feel the call to do something special, to serve society and the social mission, says Stokkedal, who on Saturday morning took part in a debate on Helgemorgen.

– Tragedy

When the Oslo police district advertised for a position at the patrol section this spring, they received a total of 904 applicants, writes Politiforum.

At the same time that 400 new students will soon have completed their education, a total of 447 people from the last four cohorts at the Police Academy are without a job. Only four police students from the 2023 cohort had secured permanent employment this spring.

Stokkedal himself has submitted dozens of applications for various positions in the police.

– There are many rejections and almost no feedback. There has been a period where you go with a lot of frustration and feel that the situation is a bit unsustainable, he says.

Leader of the Police Union in Troms, Runar Fagerlund, expresses deep sympathy for the students, and thinks the current situation is sad.

– I think it is a tragedy for the whole country, he says.

The management of the Norwegian Police Directorate was offered to stand in Helgemorgen on Saturday, but declined to participate. After the broadcast, the directorate received an offer to respond to what appeared in the broadcast. The directorate informs NRK that they have no comment on the case.

Over a billion kroner

According to the Police Federation’s own calculations, it costs NOK 1.1 million to train a police officer. In total, over one billion kroner has been spent on police officers without jobs in the last five cohorts, including those who will soon complete their education.

Even the association wanted to freeze this year’s intake.

– There is no point in training lots of police officers, and not thinking of using them, says Fagerlund, before he continues:

– We must have plans to use them if we are to educate them first.

State Secretary in the Ministry of Justice and Emergency Preparedness, Sigve Bolstad (Sp), believes that society needs “every single one” of those who graduate from the Police Academy.

– We agree that you should not train the police for unemployment, says Bolstad in a debate with Frps Helge André Njåstad.

Confederation leader of Norway’s Police Leaders Association, Kjetil Ravlo, believes, like Fagerlund, that more police officers are needed.

He himself believes that what the police have received, despite increased funds, has not been commensurate with the development in the social mission.

– We have a complex assignment that has become significantly larger, evidence requirements have become more extensive – for example in relation to investigations, says Ravlo.

Bolstad met Njåstad in a debate shortly after the feature with Stokkedal, Fagerlund and Ravlo.

– On the edge of the cliff

The recent sharp increase in murders in Norway has led to a high workload for several police districts. At the end of January, after five murder cases in 25 days, police chief Johan Brekke in Innlandet expressed concern.

– Matters that should have been prioritized cannot be prioritized in the same way, said police chief Johan Brekke.

Fagerlund is clear that, if the police had had more people, they would have achieved far more than what they can do today.

– We are in a situation where you really have a shortage of resources in almost all areas. With more resources, we could do far more for society, which society demands of us.

From a sickness absence of between three and five per cent, the sickness absence in 2023 was 7.37 per cent in the Troms police district, according to Fagerlund.

– I think that shows that a lot of people persevere, do a very fantastic job, but really stand on the edge of the cliff with their backs against the wall.

State Secretary Bolstad points out that the animal age has led to people spending money on different things today than before.

– It has ended up with far too many students without a job. Our clear intention is to get them to work, says Bolstad, before concluding:

– It is quite obvious that civil preparedness must also be strengthened, and we must think ahead in time.