– You have never seen this map before. There is a map of Oslo. The darker the grey, the more exposed the area is to crime, among other things.
This is how NRK presenter Fredrik Solvang began Tuesday’s “Debate” broadcast, referring to the map at the top of this case, before continuing:
– The black areas are what Danish researchers would call parallel societies or ghettos. But there is also another way to read this map. The darker the grey, the worse the living conditions and the less money the people who live there have.
Among others, Annica Allvin, doctoral student at the Norwegian Police Academy, took part in the broadcast. When asked by Solvang whether we have Swedish conditions in Norway, she came up with a clear message:
Another person who was invited to the broadcast was police chief constable Espen Valsgård at Indre Østfold police station. He is very clear that more focus on the problems that social inequality creates can be the key to solving the crime problem in Norway.
– Society must stand together as a team. We have to take seriously that we are working with people, said Valsgård in the broadcast.
– I read an article in VG, where it said that you should “break the backs of the gangs”. It is a rhetoric that I am a little afraid of, that people think that crime can only be solved with harsh measures, said Valsgård.
The police officer pointed to Sweden, where almost all politicians talk about how more money for the police is the solution to the gang problem.
– It may well be that things have improved there, but I think the situation is still quite bad in Sweden. The hard measures, with more uniformed police and the like, must also be balanced with some softer measures: Preventive police, and conversations to see the people behind it and figure things out, said Valsgård.
– They think that you have to be the forge of your own success
Recently, the police officer wrote a post on Facebook, in which he presented his opinion: Social inequality is the biggest driver of crime. Many children in Norway live below the poverty line.
– No one is born cynical or criminal. But one can quickly become one when the struggle to achieve relative equality means that one has to choose other paths to achieve it than the privileged majority has to. If you grow up under conditions that give you a poorer foundation for the rest of your life, Valsgård writes in the post, and continues:
– We may think that many people should be grateful for what society has done for them, but then they may feel the complete opposite; that they do not owe society anything. That you must be the forge of your own success. They find themselves in communities we don’t think are good, for example criminal gangs. Because it is these who receive them and give them recognition, writes the police officer.
Sylvi Listhaug also participated in the broadcast, who, on the occasion of “Swedish conditions”, was asked by Solvang if she was there to say: “What did I say?”. See Listhaug’s answer here:
It takes a lot for the innocent to be affected
Both buyers and sellers of drugs have become younger, Mohamed Fariss said in the broadcast. He is a special consultant at Riverside youth center, and has good insight into the situation in Greenland and in Vaterlandsparken.
– In recent years, both buyers and sellers have become younger and more aggressive. People are fighting over customers. They run after each other with knives and machetes, Fariss said.
– You end up going blind. What is abnormal becomes normal in the long run, Fariss said.
– Surely this must be perceived as dangerous?
– Undoubtedly. It probably feels dangerous, at least for those who don’t know the area very well. We who work with this know that it is often internal, and that the conflicts that arise arise for a reason. It takes a lot for innocent people to be affected, but that’s not what I’m most worried about. This is happening between two of Norway’s largest police stations, said Fariss.
The police put to the wall by Fredrik Solvang
When the police are in place, the effect has been seen, he believes, and adds that the police are unfortunately rarely there.
– It is true what the inhabitants of Greenland tell us, that we have a big problem with a lot of crime in a very small area, said Ida Melboe Øystese, chief of police in the Oslo police district in “The Debate”.
She said that during a major operation last summer they cracked down on the drug market, taking over 200 sellers and a Swedish network that was establishing itself, before she was interrupted by presenter Solvang:
– You, you know what? I just have to … you opened by saying that “we see that there is a lot of crime in a very small area.” A greater desire situation for the police can hardly be imagined?
– You are absolutely right, here it is right for us to be more targeted and invest our resources there. We do that now. We saw this autumn that our resources were not enough. We had to have more security because of the war in Gaza, and then things flourished again. Then we started with foot patrols in Greenland, and gained new knowledge because we built relationships and saw how serious this is, said Øystese.
Going forward, the police will concentrate even more on the Greenland area, promises the police chief.
