– It is sad that it has become like this, but now we are in this situation, and then we have to overcome the problem, says Frode Larsen.
He is unit leader for the Oslo police’s Central unit – one of the areas where targeted efforts are now being launched to overcome the wave of violence in the capital.
On the night of Sunday, a man in his 20s was shot at a kebab restaurant in Greenland.
It is the sixth shooting incident in Oslo so far in 2024. At the same time, there have been eight stabbings this year.
NRK’s review shows that 10 of the 14 incidents occurred in three central city districts.
Over half of these were in Greenland, Tøyen or the area around Vaterland.
More stabbing and shooting
The man who was shot was, according to the police, not a random victim.
– We see that the most serious and gross violence is caused by criminal networks and criminal actors, says Larsen.
The challenges are not new. Especially in Old Oslo, the tendencies have grown over time, says the unit manager.
Head of the Center unit in the Oslo Police, Frode Larsen.
Photo: Ola Mjaaland / NRK
– This particularly applies to Vaterland and Greenland, where there are open drug environments and an attractive market. Tøyen also stands out as one of the places where we have the biggest challenges now.
Figures NRK has obtained from its own news center and reported incidents from the police show that last year there were 64 cases of stabbings and shootings in Oslo.
So far in 2024, there have been 14 such incidents of violence, of which eight were stabbings and six shooting incidents.
Oslo has 15 districts. But in the last two years, more than half of these incidents have occurred in the districts of Gamle Oslo, Grünerløkka and Sentrum.
In 2022, by comparison, there were a total of 39 such incidents in the capital.
Three shots from the street
Ali Issam Kanaan has noticed an increased presence of police in recent days.
He has run Beirut Kebab in Greenland for ten years. At the weekend, he felt the wave of violence on his body.
Ali Issam Kanaan was at work at Beirut Kebab when someone shot into his restaurant on the night of Sunday last week.
Photo: ISMAIL BURAK AKKAN / NRK
– It was a normal evening. Until the conflict happened, says Kaanan to NRK.
So far, no one has been arrested for the shots that were fired at his restaurant.
A man who was in the restaurant was seriously injured. A woman performed first aid on the injured man until the emergency services arrived, says Kaanan.
Bullet holes on the door, the window and a chair testify to the drama.
Kaanan is still affected by the incident.
– This is nothing ordinary. It is not something that happens on a daily basis. It has affected me, of course, but I try to stay strong, says the restaurant owner.
During the interview, a man walks by and asks how he is doing. In recent days, many regular customers have popped in to have a chat.
Kaanan says he feels safer with the presence of the police after the incident.
Photo: ISMAIL BURAK AKKAN / NRK
– What warms my heart is that customers come even if they are not going to eat and ask how we are doing, says Kaanan.
– Not too late
In the revised budget, the government has announced an extra NOK 635 million for the police.
Grønland and Tøyen are two of the areas in Oslo where efforts are now to be strengthened.
– The police have prioritized more people on the front line. In practical terms, this means 38 dedicated service personnel who will work there over time, both day and night, says Frode Larsen.
At the same time, civil units must work in a targeted manner against criminal networks, and together with the municipality, more preventive work must be done for children and young people in the risk zone.
– But will the moves come in time?
– It is not too late. We would have liked to have done it sooner, but we have good faith in the effect of the effort we are now putting in, Larsen replies.
One who does not believe crime disappears only if more money is given to the police, is Espen Valsgård.
He is a police officer in the East police district and has 30 years’ driving experience with the police.
– Only hard measures will lead to a hard society, only soft ones will lead to a naive society. We need both parts in good union.
He calls for more preventive cooperation between the police, school and municipality.
– We must give them an alternative, give them back faith in the future and show that they too can do well at school. That is what most young people really want. For lack of anything else, they give up a little.
He participated in the Debate on Tuesday evening, together with, among others, Justice Minister Emilie Enger Mehl (Sp) and Finance Minister Trygve Slagsvold Vedum (Sp) and Frp leader Sylvi Listahug.
City council leader in Oslo Eirik Lae Solberg (H) told the Minister of Justice that he wants many more police officers to deal with what he calls “an almost explosive growth in crime”.
Although there have been more employees in the police overall, there has been a decrease in the number of police officers in recent years.
– While the politicians are arguing about who has done the most and the least, the crime is happening all around us, said Unn Alma Skatvold, union leader of the Police Union.
