Police (Politi)

The countrywide police force is organised into 27 Police Districts (Politidistrikt), each headed by a Chief of Police (Politimester), who also is in charge of adjacent rural Police Districts (lensmanndistrikt). The principal tasks of the police are to maintain law and order and to prevent and investigate crime. The police also perform other services, such as issuing passports, organising search and rescue parties, granting permits for public events and lotteries, and providing services relating to the legal aspects of foreigners in the country, such as issuing residence permits and work permits (Chapter 1). Three bureaux deal with special sectors of policing:

• National Criminal Investigation Service (Den nasjonale enhet for bekjempelse av organiser tog annen alvorlig kriminalitet, Nye Kripos) assists the Police Districts and acts in international police work through the International Criminal Police Organisation (Interpol).
• National Authority for Investigation and Prosecution of Economic and Environmental Crime (Økokrim) acts in matters concerning white-collar crime and violations of environmental laws.
• National Mobile Police (Utrykningspolitiet), the country’s road patrol.

The national Police Academy (Chapter 13) offers a three-year curriculum in basic police methods at its main school in Oslo and in Bodø, and the Police Security Service (Chapter 11), a separate agency under the Ministry of Justice and the Police, deals with terror threats and national security.

Contact the nearest police, listed under Politiet in the Pink Pages or call Tel: 02800 for the location of the nearest police unit. For more extensive information, contact the National Police Directorate (Politidirektoratet), Henrik Ibsens gt 10, PO Box 8051 Dep, 0031 Oslo, Tel: 23364100, Fax: 23364296, www.politi.no, politidirektoratet@politi.no.

Prison (Fengsel)

Norway imprisons few people, fewer than 62 per 100,000 population, about half as many as England and Wales (122) and less than a tenth as many as the USA (701). And Norwegian prisons are not crowded, as occupancy averages 90 prisoners per 100 available places. In an average year, some 10,000 persons are imprisoned, and the average length of stay in prison is 89 days.

There are 42 prisons with a total capacity of slightly more than 2,800 places, of which nearly 900 are in open facilities. If you are sentenced to prison, you can learn more about prison matters by contacting Juss-Buss, a free legal advice (Chapter 29) organisation for one of its publications, such as “Prisoner’s Handbook” (Fangehåndbok).

Probation and aftercare service (Kriminalomsorgen)

There are six probation and aftercare service regions in the country. In each, probation officers are involved with court work, supervise people on probation, manage people sentenced to community service and work in prisons to promote the welfare of and educate prisoners. For further information, contact the nearest regional office, listed in the Pink Pages for Oslo, Lillestrøm, Tønsberg, Sandnes, Bergen and Trondheim, or contact the head office, PO Box 8005 Dep, 0030 Oslo, Tel: 22245501, Fax: 22245590.

Prostitution (Prostitusjon)

Public brothels were part of city life up until the late 19th century. Opinion leaders of the time opposed the practice; Christian Krogh’s painting “Albertine in the Police Doctor’s Waiting-room” (Albertine i politilegens Ventevœrelse) of 1886–1887 and his novel Albertine published at the same time helped prompt the abolishment of public prostitution in 1888. Since that time, prostitution has been a private affair of uncertain legal status. The vice law of 1902 prohibits touting but not prostitution itself. A subsequent law prohibits pimping. So for years, law enforcement focused on prostitution only when it was felt to disrupt public order. The situation was flawed, not least because the visible sellers felt the scrutiny of the law and the scorn of the public more than did their anonymous buyers.

So there always has been discussion of prostitution and of the laws applicable to it. There have been voices for liberalisation and for legal measures to manage prostitution. More recently, there have been conservative voices claiming that it should be stamped out. As this book goes to press, the conservative viewpoint is gaining ground, supported in part by the criminalisation of the buying of sex in neighbouring Sweden in 1999. Nonetheless, the question remains as to what constitutes a criminal offence when two adults agree a price, go somewhere and have sex. So the view that prostitutes and their customers are people, entitled to full rights according to the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948 persists. There’s support for that view among the prostitutes who have chosen the profession of their own free will: in the autumn of 2004, with the support of the Freedom of Expression Foundation (Chapter 33), prostitutes from the Nordic countries held a conference in Oslo to discuss ways in which their collective voice might be heard in the ongoing discussion of their calling.

Recently, uglier matters associated with prostitution – trafficking in women, underage sex, enslavement of foreigners smuggled in, drug addiction and organised crime – have not only complicated the discussion, but also have worsened the lot of the women and men, who willingly or unwillingly practise prostitution. Fortunately, expert aid is at hand. The national Prostitution Centre in Oslo (Pro-sentret), staffed by social service professionals and volunteers, Tollbugt 24, 0157 Oslo, Tel: 23100200, Fax: 22410544, www.prosenteret.no, prosenteret@bgo.oslo.kommune.no, offers individual help, supports refuges in Oslo and elsewhere and works to influence public opinion and law-making.

Schengen Information System

The Schengen Information System (SIS) is an automatic network that interconnects police agencies and consulates of the Schengen space (Chapter 20) to access data on wanted persons as well as vehicles and objects that are lost or stolen. In Norway, SIS is maintained and accessed by the National Criminal Investigation Service agency of the police.

Security services (Vakttjenester)

Security services include the providing of private guards (vekter), alarm systems (alarmsysterner), reception staff (resepsjonstjenester), valuables transport (verditransport), personal protection (personbeskyttelse) and other services involved in protecting people and property. The security services sector is expanding rapidly, in part due to an increasing need for protection as rates of crime rise. The largest company in the sector is Securitas, founded in 1934 in Sweden and now offering services in 19 countries in Europe and North America, including Norway. In all, more than 100 companies offer security services; you can find them listed under Vaktselskaper in the Yellow Pages. In contacting a company, be sure that it is established and reputable, as the rapid expansion of the sector has attracted many unqualified firms. You may ask the police, who certify security services and thereby know their operations, or you also may contact the National Association of Service Companies, Essendropsgt 6, PO Box 5473 Majorstua, 0305 Oslo, Tel: 23088650, Fax: 23088659, www.sbl.no.

Trafficking (Menneskehandel)

The word “trafficking” is old; it originally meant the conduct of trade. But since the late 16th century, it has meant “a sinister trade of transport”, such as dealing in illegal drugs or in exploitable human beings. More recently, it means one thing: the forcing of women and children into prostitution against their will. The equivalent Norwegian word, menneskehandel, bluntly means “people trade”.

According to current EU statistics, each year, half a million women and children are trafficked to Western Europe to be enslaved in the sex trade. The underlying causes of their journeys of misery include poverty, unemployment and lack of education and access to resources in poor countries, cruel aspects that force them to take risks in the hope of improving their living opportunities. Women and their children are particularly vulnerable, due to the feminisation of poverty, gender discrimination and inadequate educational and professional opportunities in their home countries. The title of the EU survey of the trade is apt: “The misery behind the fantasy: from poverty to sex slavery.”

Trafficking in Norway is believed to have begun in the mid-1990s, with the transport of Russian women into the sex trade in Finnmark, the country’s northernmost county. It has evolved to forced import of women, principally from Asia, to Oslo and other cities. There are no exact numbers, but the Fafo Institute for Applied Social Science estimates that an appreciable portion of the 1,100 prostitutes in Oslo are trafficked foreigners. The legal status of these women is unclear, but in compliance with the UN Convention on Women, the practice is to offer them the choice of return to their home country or of asylum, lest they fear that repatriation would perpetuate their enslavement.

If you are a woman or a child (a girl or a boy up to age 18) who has been trafficked into the sex trade and wish to escape it, contact one of the Women’s Shelters or call the trafficked women’s 24-hour helpline on Tel: 22331160.

Victim compensation (Voldsoffererstatning)

If you have been the victim of a violent crime, such as assault, mugging or rape, you may be entitled to compensation from the State. Moreover, the relatives of a victim killed in a violent crime may be entitled to compensation.

The violent crime must have been committed within the country, onboard a Norwegian vessel, offshore platform or aircraft. In some cases, compensation may be granted to Norwegian residents for injury sustained abroad. The compensation is awarded to offset loss of income, expenses related to injuries, travel, and damage to clothing and personal belongings. The minimum compensation is NOK 1,000 and the maximum is 20 times the Basic amount (Chapter 2).

To qualify for compensation, you must have reported the violent crime to the police and as part of your report, fill in a compensation application form. The police will have the form, or you can download it from the website listed below. The form will be sent to and evaluated by the Norwegian Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (Kontoret for voldsoffererstatning), PO Box 253, 9951 Vardø, Tel: 78989500, Fax: 78989501, www.voldsoffererstatning.no, post@voldsoffererstatning.no.

Victim support (Støtte til voldsofre)

If you are the victim of a violent act, you may seek support and help from the National Association for Victim Support (Landsforeningen for Voldsofre), Ensjøsvingen 10B, 0661 Oslo, Tel: 22655455, Fax: 22678843. The number is listed in the front pages of the Pink and White Pages of all telephone directories and is answered by persons who themselves are survivors of violence. When you call, the person answering will advise you in Norwegian, or in English if you prefer, where to go or which organisation to call nearby for immediate assistance. The association is represented in the European Forum for Victim Services.

If you are the victim of a crime, you may seek advice from one of the advisory offices for victims of crimes (Rådgivningskontorene for kriminalitetsofre) located in Drammen, Fredrikstad, Haugesund, Kristiansand, Oslo, Stavanger, Tromsø and Trondheim. Call the police department (politi) listed in the Pink Pages for the phone number, address and consultation hours of the nearest office.

If you wish to learn more about victim support and the measures that promote it, contact the Norwegian Centre for Studies on Violence and Traumatic Stress.

Violence (Vold)

Each year, more than 16,000 violent crimes are reported, equivalent to 348 per 100,000 population, a level six times as high as in the late 1950s. Moreover, crime statistics alone reflect only part of the problem, as each year an estimated 110,000 persons are victims of violence. One of five incidents of violence occurs in the home, and one of eight young persons is now subjected to violence or threat of violence.

Understandably, the public is alarmed. The public and private sectors are involved in preventing and combating violence. The Norwegian Centre for Studies on Violence and Traumatic Stress has top-level expertise in all relevant fields. There are victim support measures and organisations and a countrywide helpline listed in all telephone directories. Major organisations, including the Red Cross, the Salvation Army (Chapter 33), church groups and youth organisations have anti-violence activities. An organisation in Oslo dedicated to working with young people to prevent their becoming criminal and violent is Youth Against Violence (Ungdom mot Vold), PO Box 8827 Youngstorget, 0028 Oslo, Tel: 22113111, Fax: 22113100, www.ungdom-mot-vold.no.

Women’s Shelters (Krisesentere)

If you are a woman who has been beaten, raped or otherwise physically or psychologically abused, you can seek help and refuge at a Women’s Shelter, both for yourself and for your children. You can find the nearest Shelter by looking under Krisesenteret for Kvinner or Krisesenteret for Mishandlede og Voldtatte Kvinner in the Viktige telefonnummer pages in front of the Pink Pages of the local telephone directory.

Violence against women may be the oldest human rights violation and is today the most frequent in Europe. It was long regarded as a “private affair”, but in the 1970s it became a matter of public concern. As a result, the first Women’s Shelter was set up in Oslo in 1987. Others followed, and there now are Shelters in all counties across the country, more than 50 in all. Many of the shelters are staffed by volunteers, but all are supported by public funds.

The typical Shelter gives advice over the telephone, provides counselling during shorter visits and serves as a safe refuge for battered women who need to escape their homes. The Shelter will be able to treat minor medical problems and will have ready access to health care services, such as doctors, gynaecologists and psychiatrists for more serious problems. Depending on the size of the Shelter, a woman may stay a night or two and sometimes longer. Shelters serving social groups that practise severe repression of women will provide emergency services for girls and young women seeking escape from forced marriages or female genital mutilation.

In addition to helping individuals, the Shelters work to bring about change that with time will reduce the frequency and severity of violence against women and thereby contribute to greater equality between the sexes. They do this in part by working together, principally through their secretariat in Oslo, which also serves as a national resource centre and interface to international organisations, such as the Women Against Violence Europe (WAVE).

For information on Women’s Shelters as well as contact details for Shelters across the country, contact the secretariat, Krisesentersekretariatet, Storgata 11, 0155 Oslo, Tel: 23010341, Fax: 23010301, www.krisesenter.com, ks.sekretariatet@oslo.online.no.