New police report: These areas are prioritized

– Recently, there has been attention to several serious incidents, and I understand that our citizens can feel concern. We take that seriously.

This is what Oslo police chief Ida Melbo Øystese told the press on Tuesday.

The police’s focus will now be shifted to areas where there is a lot of visible crime, and where the police see it as necessary to regain trust and create security.

See which areas are prioritized further down in the matter!

– It makes an impression on us to meet young people who do not dare to tell the police about serious crimes by other people, stories from desperate parents who are worried about their children, says Øystese and continues:

– It makes an impression to meet shop owners who do not dare to report theft, and people who are afraid to stay in different parts of the city.

The police chief also made a clear message:

– If you commit a crime here, you must expect to be caught and punished.

Minister of Justice Emilie Enger Mehl (Sp) was also present during the press conference.

– Now I am very happy that the Oslo police are re-prioritizing to get more people out into the streets, out of houses where they don’t meet people, and out to people in Greenland, where there has been insecurity, Minister of Justice Emilie Enger Mehl told VG just before the press conference.

These areas will be prioritized:

• Greenland
• The clothes
• Majorstuen
• Sandvika city centre
• Asker centre
• The pine tree
• Veitvet
• Mortensrud
• Bjørnerud

The areas are now prioritized because at least one of the criteria below is met, according to the police:

• greater extent of insecurity-creating crime and unwanted incidents in public space,
• greater degree of insecurity among those who live and travel there, and
• lower trust in the police.

Young people are recruited

In several of the areas where the police are now to have a priority effort, they describe a situation where young people are recruited and used to commit crime – both on the east and west edge of Oslo.

According to the police, among other things, a young, criminal environment has attempted to establish itself in the center of Asker, and that this has led to several confrontations in various conflicts between young criminal actors in recent years.

While at Mortensrud, the police find it likely that a network is recruiting young boys from one to sell drugs.

Last week, Lasse Richardt, head of the national dropout program at the organization YMCA-YMCA, said that youth crime has become more organized over the years.

He described a situation where those who commit offenses are getting younger, and says he is aware of primary school children keeping hashish on the west edge.

These are some of the recent events:

Operates freely

Greenland is particularly highlighted by the police, with the open sale and purchase of drugs and shooting incidents in the open street.

The focus group in the central unit believes that the problems in the area are so massive that the police’s efforts are not being noticed.

VG has previously written about a report from the neighborhood police in Greenland, which shows that criminals operate freely in Greenland.

One of the challenges facing the police is that few choose to report experienced crime. According to the focus group, this applies not only to business, but also to people who live or stay in Greenland.

The police believe that there are large undercover figures here.

The problem is so precarious that the chief of police feels compelled to establish the Neighborhood Police Unit. Last week she told VG that the department will consist of up to 38 police officers.

The section will work in what the police now refer to as priority areas from 1 May.