| Norwegian Police Service Politi- og lensmannsetaten | |
|---|---|
 Coat of arms | |
| Common name | Politi |
| Agency overview | |
| Formed | 13th century |
| Employees | 13,000 |
| Annual budget | 13 billion kr (2010) |
| Jurisdictional structure | |
| National agency | Norway |
| Operations jurisdiction | Norway |
| General nature | |
| Operational structure | |
| Minister responsible | |
| Agency executive |
|
| Parent agency | Ministry of Justice and Public Security |
| National units | List
|
| Police districts | 12 |
| Facilities | |
| Stations | 66 |
| Sheriff's offices | 301 |
| Helicopters | 3AgustaWestland AW169 |
| Website | |
| politi.no | |
TheNorwegian Police Service (Norwegian:Politi- og lensmannsetaten) is theNorwegian national civilianpolice agency. The service dates to the 13th century when the firstsheriffs were appointed, with the current structure established in 2003. It comprises a centralNational Police Directorate, seven specialty agencies andtwelve police districts. Thegovernment agency is subordinate to theMinistry of Justice and Public Security and has 16,000 employees, of which 8,000 arepolice officers. In addition topolice powers, the service is responsible forborder control, certain civil duties, coordinatingsearch and rescue operations,counterterrorism,highway patrolling,writ of execution,criminal investigation andprosecution. The directorate is led by the National Police Commissioner.
Each police district is led by a chief of police and is subdivided into severalpolice stations in towns and cities, and sheriffs' offices for rural areas. TheGovernor of Svalbard acts as chief of police forSvalbard. As of July 1, 2025, Norwegian police officers are generally armed while on duty, following a parliamentary decision in June 2025 to amend the Police Act. Prior to this, officers typically did not carry firearms, but kept weapons secured in patrol vehicles. TheNorwegian Prosecuting Authority is partially integrated with the police.
Specialist agencies within the services include theNational Criminal Investigation Service, theNational Authority for Investigation and Prosecution of Economic and Environmental Crime (Økokrim), theNational Police Immigration Service, theNational Mobile Police Service, theNorwegian Border Commissioner, theNational Police Computing and Material Service and theNorwegian Police University College. Several other national responsibilities are under the command ofOslo Police District, such as thepolice tactical unitDelta and the twopolice helicopters. ThePolice Security Service is separate from the National Police Directorate.
The police force in Norway was established during the 13th century. Originally the 60 to 80 sheriffs (lensmann) were predominantly used for writ of execution and to a less degree police power. In the cities the duties were originally taken care of by agjaldker. The sheriffs were originally subordinate to thesysselmann, but from the 14th century they instead became subordinate to thebailiff (fogd) and the number of sheriffs increased. In the cities the police authority was transferred directly to the bailiff. By the mid-17th century there were between 300 and 350 sheriffs. With the introduction of theabsolute monarchy in 1660 and subsequent strengthening of the civil service, the importance of the police increased. The bailiffs as such became part of the police structure, with their superiors, thecounty governor, receiving a similar role as that of chief of police. The first titled chief of police was hired inTrondheim in 1686, thus creating the first police district, although his jurisdiction only covered the city proper. Chiefs of police were hired inBergen in 1692,Christiania (Oslo) in 1744 andChristianssand in 1776.[1]
From the 19th century, deputies were hired in larger areas to assist the sheriffs. Following thedemocratization in 1814, the Ministry of Justice was created in 1818 and has since had the primary responsibility for organizing the police force. The 19th century saw a large increase in the number of chiefs of police, reaching sixteen by the middle of the century. Christiania established the country's first uniformed corps of constables in 1859, which gave the force a more unified appearance. Similar structures were soon introduced in many other cities. From 1859 themunicipalities would finance the wages of the deputies and constables, which made it difficult for the police to use those forces outside the municipal borders.[1] The first organized education of police officers started in Christiania in 1889.[2]
In 1894 the authorities decided to abolish the position of bailiff and it was decided that some of its tasks would be transferred to the sheriffs. This resulted in 26 new chief of police positions, largely corresponding to the oldbailiwicks. Some received jurisdiction over both cities and rural areas, other just rural areas. At the same time the existing police districts were expanded to include the surrounding rural areas. However, the individual bailiff were not removed from office until their natural retirement, leaving some bailiwick in place until 1919. The reform eliminated the difference between the rural and city police forces; yet the sheriffs were only subordinate to the chief of police in police matters—in civil matters and administration they remained under the county governors.[1]
The police school was established in 1920[2] and the Governor of Svalbard was created in 1925.[3] To increase the police force's flexibility, the municipal funding was cut and replaced with state funding in 1937.[1] That year also saw the first two specialty agencies were created, the Police Surveillance Agency (later the Police Security Service) and the Mobile Police Service.[4] After a border agreement was reached between Norway and the Soviet Union in 1949, the Norwegian Border Commission was established the following year.[5] The Criminal Investigation Service was established in 1959,[4] and the search and rescue system with two joint coordination centers and sub-centers for each police district was created in 1970.[6]
The number of police districts was nearly constant from 1894 to 2002, although a few have been creased and closed.[1] However, the organization in the various police districts varied considerably, especially in the cities. In particular, some cities had their civilian responsibilities taken care of by the municipality. This was confusing for the public, resulting in the police services reorganizing to a homogeneous organization during the 1980s, whereby the civil tasks being organized as part of the police stations.[4] Økokrim was established in 1988[7] and in 1994 the administrative responsibilities for the sheriff's offices was transferred to police districts.[1] Only once has the order toshoot to kill been issued, during theTorp hostage crisis in 1994.[8] The police school became auniversity college in 1993 and introduced a three-year education; in 1998 a second campus opened inBodø.[2] Police Reform 2000 was a major restructuring of the police force. First the National Police Directorate was created in 2001,[9] and from 2003 the number of police districts were reduced from 54 to 27.[1] The Police Computing and Material Service and the Criminal Investigation Service were both established in 2004.[7] Ten police officers have been killed in service since 1945.[10] TheGjørv Report following the2011 Norway attacks criticized several aspects of the police force, labeling the work as "unacceptable".[11] National CommissionerØystein Mæland withdrew following the criticism, in part because an internal report of the attacks had not found any criticism of the police force.[12]
On 12 June 2025, a majority in theStorting (Norwegian parliament) voted to introduce general arming of the Norwegian police. The decision was based on a government proposal to amend the Police Act, allowing officers to carry firearms during routine duties. The Norwegian Police Directorate was given the authority to determine whether – and to what extent – the police should be armed. The policy of routine arming officially came into effect on 1 July 2025.[13]
Previously, Norwegian police officers were typically unarmed during daily service, although firearms have been stored in patrol vehicles. TheMinistry of Justice and Public Security has announced that a proposal for permanent rules on general arming will be drafted and submitted for consultation. The police have advocated for such a system for several years, arguing that it will improve preparedness for serious and unforeseen incidents.[14][15]
TheNational Police Directorate, located inDowntown Oslo, is the central administration for the Norwegian Police Service. It conducts management and supervision of the specialist agencies and police districts, including organizational development and support activities.[9] The directorate is led by the National Police Commissioner, who, since 2012, has beenOdd Reidar Humlegård.[16] TheNational Criminal Investigation Service is a national unit which works withorganized and serious crime. It both works as an assistant unit for police districts, with special focus ontechnical and tactical investigation, in addition to being responsible on its own for organized crime. It acts as the center for international police cooperation, including participation inInterpol andEuropol.[17] TheNational Authority for Investigation and Prosecution of Economic and Environmental Crime is responsible for complex cases ofeconomic crime and acts as a public prosecutor for those cases.[18] TheNational Police Immigration Service registers and identifiesasylum seekers and returns those which have their applications rejected.[19] TheNational Mobile Police Service is based inStavern and operates throughout the country. Their primary role is as highway patrol and manages the police reserves, although they also assist police districts in extraordinary events where extra manpower is needed or where they are in the vicinity.[20]
TheNorwegian Border Commissioner is located inKirkenes and is responsible for managing theNorway–Russia border and upholding the border agreement. Special consideration is needed as it is the only non-Schengen Area land border of Norway. Border controls are the responsibility of the respective police district. TheNational Police Computing and Material Service is responsible for managing the police'sinformation and communications technology,procurement, security and real estate.[21] Norway has twojoint rescue coordination centers,one for Northern Norway located in Bodø and onone for Southern Norway located inSola. Their jurisdiction border goes at the65th parallel north (Nord-Trøndelag–Nordland border). Organizationally they are directly subordinate to the Ministry of Justice and the Police, although their operations are subordinate to the chiefs of police inSalten andRogaland, respectively.[22] The Police Security Service is Norway'ssecurity agency; although considered a law enforcement agency, it is not subordinate to the National Police Directorate nor part of the Norwegian Police Service.[23]
Metropolitan Norway is divided into27 police districts. Each district is further subdivided into local police stations and rural police districts, the latter led by a sheriff. Each police district is headquartered at a main police station and is led by achief of police. Police districts hold a common pool of resources and personnel and have a common administration and budget. Each also has a joint operations center which also acts as anemergency call center for112. Many of the larger districts have their own execution and enforcement authority, while this in integrated in the smaller districts.[24] The size of the police districts varies, from Oslo with 2,500 employees and covering a population of 570,000[25] toEastern Finnmark which has 160 employees and 30,000 residents.[26]
Each districts has specially-trained mobile units for armed and other challenging missions, and dog units for narcotics and search and rescue missions. The police districts also have police boats for coastal waters and selected lakes, with focus ondriving under the influence, speeding andenvironmental monitoring.[27] InTroms andFinnmark, theReindeer Police are responsible for monitoring and supervisingreindeer husbandry and environmental supervision.[28] As of 2009 there were 301 rural police districts, 68 local police stations and 10 execution and enforcement authorities.[29]
Oslo Police District has a series of special divisions and task forces which provide aid to all other police districts when necessary. It is responsible for the two police helicopters, which is mostly used for traffic motoring, search and rescue and apprehension.[28] The tactical unit Delta is forterrorism,sabotage andhostage incidents, which is separate from the crisis and hostage negotiation service. Oslo's dog patrol service includes the national bomb squad. The departments further has a mobile deployment squad againstdemonstrations andriots, a Police Negotiation Unit for use against barricades and kidnapping, amounted police, and the responsibility for protecting high-ranking government and royal officials.[30]
Svalbard is not part of the regular police districts—instead its law enforcement is handled by the Governor of Svalbard, who holds the responsibility as both county governor and chief of police, as well as other authority granted by the executive branch. Duties includeenvironmental policy,family law, law enforcement, search and rescue, tourism management, information services, contact with foreign settlements, and adjudication in some areas of maritime inquiries and judicial examinations—albeit never in the same cases as acting as police.[31]Jan Mayen is subordinate to Salten Police District.[32]
Norway has a unified police, which means that there is a single police organization and thatpolice power andprosecutor power is not granted to other agencies within Norway.[33] The sole exception is themilitary police, albeit which only has jurisdiction over military personnel and on military installations, except duringmartial law.[34] The police are decentralized and generalized to allow a more flexible resource allocation, while remaining under political control. This entails that police officers have no geographical or sector limitations to their powers.[33] The Police Act and several special laws regulate the agencies and the officer's powers and responsibilities.[7] The police are required to assist other public institutions, including the healthcare authorities, and can be asked by other agencies to assist when it is necessary to enact a decision by force. Conversely, the police can ask for assistance from theCoast Guard when necessary. The police are responsible for all responses against terrorism and sabotage unless Norway is underarmed attack.[7]
Responsibilities and functions related to security includes patrolling, continual emergency availability, highway patrolling,sea patrolling, coordination of search and rescue activities, embassy security and as abody guard service for members of the government, the royal family and other in need. The crime fighting responsibility is split between preventative measures, such as information, observation and controls, and consequential measures, such as investigation and prosecution. The police further have duties related to civilian court cases, such as writ of execution, evaluation of natural damage, assisting the courts afterbankruptcies and functioning as anotary public.[7]
The police have a series of functions related to public management, such as the issuing ofpassports andnational identity cards,[35]firearms licenses,police certificates, permissions for lotteries and withdrawal ofdriving licenses, approval ofsecurity guard companies andbouncers, recommendations to municipal councils for issuing alcohol sales licenses, approval ofsecond-hand shops and arrangements which are otherwise unlawful, dealing with unowned dogs and animals in the care of people sentenced unsuitable to hold animals.[7]
The police also have the responsibility forprisoner transport duringdetention, including transport to and from court. The police serve asborder guards for the outer border of theSchengen Area. The busiest areOslo Airport, Gardermoen, which has 130 man-years tied to it,Storskog on the Russian border andSandefjord Airport, Torp. These are the only borders with designated border employees—all other are manned with regular officers. The police is not responsible forcustoms, which is the responsibility of theNorwegian Customs and Excise Authorities. Norway participates in a series of international police cooperation, such asInterpol,Europol, theSchengen Information System,Frontex, and theBaltic Sea Task Force on Organized Crime. Norway also has a close cooperation with the other Nordic police forces. The Norwegian Police Service occasionally participates in international operations.[7]
In 2011 the police force had 746,464 assignments, the most common with 180,000 assignments being investigation cases, such as reported deaths, controls and reports ofmotor vehicle theft. This was followed by traffic assignments, publicdisturbance of peace, animal cases, theft, private disturbance of peace, and sickness and psychiatry. Seventy-five percent of assignments are solved with a single patrol, while ninety percent are solved with one and two. In armed situations only twenty percent are solved with a single patrol.[36] In 2010 the Norwegian Police Service had 13 billionNorwegian krone in costs, of which seventy percent was used on wages. It employed 13,493 man-years, or 1.6 man-years per 1000 residents. There were 394,137 reported offenses, or 81.1 per 1000 people, of which 46 percent were solved. There were 5,399 debt settlements, 226,491 applications for writ of execution, 195,345 immigration cases and 4,615 forced returns.[37]
TheNorwegian Prosecuting Authority is integrated into the Norwegian Police Service. The authority is divided into a higher and lower authority, with the higher authority (public prosecutor) being a separate government agency and the lower authority (police prosecutor) being members of the police. The latter includes chief of police, deputy chief of police, police prosecutors and deputy police prosecutors. In questions of prosecution the police districts are subordinate to the Norwegian Prosecuting Authority and in other matters subordinate to the National Police Directorate.[7]
The higher authorities will take decisions in serious criminal charges and for appeals.[38] The Norwegian Persecuting Authority is led by the Director General of Public Prosecutions,[39] which since 1997 has beenTor-Aksel Busch.[40] The director general makes decisions ofindictment in cases with a maximum penalty of twenty-one years and certain other serious crimes.[39] There are twelve subordinate agencies, ten regional and two supporting Kripos and Økokrim, respectively. The regional public prosecution offices take decisions regarding cases not covered by the director general or the police prosecutors.[41]
If an offense is filed, the issue may be investigated by police on duty. Permission forsearch and seizure is issued by the police prosecutor on duty at the police district. Apprehended people are permitted a freedefense counsel at the public's expense. If the police wish to keep apprehended people indetention, the issue is brought to the relevantdistrict court, a process which may be repeated several times if the custody needs to be extended. Investigations are led by a police prosecutor. During investigation, the case may be concluded as a non-criminal offense, dismissed, or transferred to another police district. Minor cases with a positive finding may be resolved by police penalty notice, settlement by a conflict resolution board and withdrawal of prosecution.[42]
Criminal cases with an assumed perpetrator are sent to the public prosecutor, who will consider issuing an indictment. If positive, the trial will take place at a district court, with a police prosecutor presiding over the case.[42] Cases with more than six years maximum penalty will normally be carried out with public prosecutors prosecuting.[39] Either party can, on specified terms, appeal the outcome of the case to thecourt of appeal and ultimately theSupreme Court of Norway.[42]
Education of police officers is the responsibility of theNorwegian Police University College, which is subordinate to the National Police Directorate. The main campus is located atMajorstuen in Oslo, while the secondary campus is located atMørkved in Bodø. In addition the college has training centers inKongsvinger andStavern.[43] Police officer training is a three-yearbachelor's degree, where the first and third year take place at the college and the second year is on-the-ground training in police districts.[44]
In 2009, 1990 people applied for 432 places at the college. From 2010, admission is administrated through theNorwegian Universities and Colleges Admission Service.[45] The college also has a three-year part-timemaster's degree in police science.[46] As the chief of police and deputy chief of police are part of the prosecuting authority, they must be acandidate of law to act in such a position.[7] Although there no longer is a formal requirement for such an education, the role as prosecutor effectively hinders others from holding the position.[47]
At the time of graduation all officers are qualified for operational service. However, each employee must undergo 40 hours of yearly training, including firearms practice, to keep their operational certification. Without this, they cannot patrol, use firearms or participate in actions. Forty-four percent of police officers in 2012 lacked such certification. The main reason is that the police districts see it as a waste of resources to train investigation and administrative staff which do not participate in operative duty, and that a higher quality is achieved through specialization of tasks, such as dedicated investigation personnel.[36]
Each police district may dictate that operational personnel have a higher amount of training, for instance 80 hours is required in Oslo. Officers are certified at five levels, of which the top four can use firearms. Level three consists of a call-out unit for each police district, consisting of a combined 646 people. This requires 103 hours of special training per year. Higher levels are required for body-guard service (55 officers) and the tactical unit Delta (73 officers). All certification curriculum is developed by and organized by the university college.[36]
TheNorwegian Police Federation is thetrade union which organizes employees from all levels within the police force.[48] The federation is a member of theConfederation of Unions for Professionals, Norway[49] and theEuropean Confederation of Police.[50] It is illegal for police officers tostrike.[51] The federation have nonetheless undertaken several actions, including collectivesick leave to close a police station and by members sabotaging courses by not participating.[52]Reports of misconduct and criminal offenses by officers during duty is investigated by theNorwegian Bureau for the Investigation of Police Affairs. Based inHamar, it is directly subordinate to the Ministry of Justice and the Police and is not part of the Norwegian Police Service.[53]
As of 2023 the police's new patrol cars arefour-wheel driveVolvo V90CC withautomatic transmission. New transport cars areMercedes-Benz Vito for light transport andMercedes-Benz Sprinter for heavy transport.[54] The police force operates threeAW169 helicopters, which are based atOslo Airport, Gardermoen.[55] In addition, Delta can use theRoyal Norwegian Air Force'sBell 412 helicopters.[56]
The police have two main types of uniforms, type I is used for personnel which primarily undertake indoor work, and type II is used for personnel which primarily undertakes outdoor service. Both types have summer and winter versions, and type I also has adress uniform version.[57] Both types use black as the dominant color with light blue shirts.[58][59]
Police officers were until 2025 not permanent armed withfirearms during patrolling, but had weapons locked down in the patrol cars. Arming of the locked-down weapons required permission from the chief of police or someone designated by him.[60] The police useHeckler & Koch MP5 submachine guns,Glock G45 semi-automatic pistols,[61] DD4 M4A1 RIIIsemi-automatic rifle and DD5 V4 as sniper rifle.[62] Delta usesDiemaco C8 assault rifles.[63] Norwegian police officers useelectroshock weapons called Taser X2 which they started using in 2018.[64]
Previously the police used a decentralized information technology system developed during the mid-1990s.[65] As late as 2012 servers were still being run withWindows NT 4.0 from 1996 and log-on times were typically twenty minutes. The new IT-system D#2 was introduced in 2011 and will have been taken into use by all divisions by 2012.[66] D#2 will be operated byErgoGroup and will have tworedundant server centers. Personnel have access to the system viathin clients.[67] The police have a system to raise a national alarm to close border crossings and call in reserve personnel. The one time it was activated the message was not received by any of the intended recipients.[68] Since 2009 it has been possible to report criminal damage and theft of wallets, bicycles and mobile telephones without a known perpetrator(s) online.[69]
TheNorwegian Public Safety Radio has been installed in all districts.[70] The system is usesTerrestrial Trunked Radio and allows for a commonpublic safety network for all emergency agencies. Features includeauthentication,encryption and possibilities to transmit data traffic.[71]
Source:[72]
| Rank | Politidirektør | Assisterende politidirektør | Politimester | Visepolitimester | Politiinspektør Politiadvokat (appointed before 1 Aug 2002) | Politiadvokat (appointed after 1 Aug 2002) | Politifullmektig |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Translation | Police Director | Assistant Police Director | Police Master | Vice Police Master | Police Inspector Police Advocate | Police Advocate | Police Proxy |
| Official Translation | National Police Commissioner | Assistant National Commissioner | Chief of Police | Deputy Chief of Police | Assistant Chief of Police Police Prosecutor | Police Prosecutor | Junior Police Prosecutor |
| Equivalent[73] | Inspector-General | Deputy Inspector-General | Commissioner | Deputy Commissioner | Assistant Commissioner | Chief Superintendent | Superintendent |
| Insignia |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
| Rank | Politistasjonssjef Lensmann Politioverbetjent (appointed before 1 Aug 2002) | Politioverbetjent (appointed after 1 Aug 2002) | Politiførstebetjent | Politibetjent 3 | Politibetjent 2 | Politibetjent 1 | Politireserven |
| Former Rank | Politiassisterendestasjonssjef | Politisjefinspectør | Politiførsteinspectør | Politioverbetjent (Overkonstabel) | Politibetjent (Konstabel) | ||
| Translation | Police Station Chief Sheriff Police Senior Constable | Police Senior Constable | Police First Constable | Police Constable 3 | Police Constable 2 | Police Constable 1 | Police Reserve |
| Official Translation | Police Chief Superintendent | Police Superintendent | Police Chief Inspector | Police Inspector | Police Sergeant | Police Constable | Police Reserve |
| Equivalent | Chief Inspector | Inspector | Sub-Inspector | Sergeant Major | Sergeant | Constable | Special Constable |
| Insignia |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
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