Police and prosecution - StatRes (discontinued), 2011

Compared with 2010, wage costs were 4.2 per cent higher and expenses relating to the purchase of goods and services saw a 5.4 per cent increase in 2011. The share of expenses within own production that related to wages was thus 69.6 per cent, while the purchase of goods and services accounted for 30.4 per cent. This share is about the same as in 2010.

Greatest increase for units other than the police districts, both in costs ...

Relative to the level in 2010, the police districts’ expenses increased less than the expenses in other units in the police and prosecution authority. Wage costs and costs relating to the purchase of goods and services in the police districts both saw an increase of 2.9 per cent. For all other units combined, excluding the police districts, the corresponding increases were 10.5 and 8.3 per cent respectively.

... and man-years

A total of 13 681 man-years were carried out in the police and prosecution authority in 2011; a 1.4 per cent increase from 2010. Although the total number of man-years showed a moderate increase, some police districts and other units within the police and prosecution authority saw relatively large changes.

A total of 11 287 man-years related to the police districts in 2011, which is 0.5 per cent more than in 2010. Units other than the police districts had an increase of 6 per cent, to a total of 2 395 man-years in 2011. The National Police Immigration Service and the Norwegian Police University College had a combined total of 103 more man-years, which corresponds to 75 per cent of the total increase in all other units excluding the police districts. The share of all man-years in the police and prosecution authority that relates to the police districts was thereby reduced to 82.5 per cent in 2011. This share has fallen every year since 2006, when it stood at 89.2 per cent.

Increase in police man-years somewhat lower than population growth ¹

In 2011, the number of police man-years, i.e. police-educated personnel in specific positions, was 7 779. The corresponding figure for other positions was 5 903 man-years. This is 1.2 and 1.6 per cent more than in 2010 respectively. The increase in the overall scope of man-years in the police and prosecution authority is about the same as the increase in population, and the number of man-years per 1 000 inhabitants was therefore level with 2010, at 2.8. However, this is higher than in 2005, when the number of man-years per 1 000 inhabitants was 2.5. Relative to the population, the number of police man-years was slightly reduced in 2011, but as in all years dating back to 2005, there were 1.6 police man-years per 1 000 inhabitants.

Redistribution between districts after 22 July

In November 2011, Oslo Police District had 90 more police man-years than in the corresponding reference period in 2010 (the definition of man-years is given in the text box). Nordre Buskerud Police District and the nearby districts of Søndre Buskerud and Telemark also had more police man-years in the relevant reference period. These four districts all have a geographic proximity to the sites where the events of 22 July 2011 took place, and in combination have 132 more man-years than in 2010. Around half of this increase in police man-years appears to be transferred from other police districts, where there were considerably fewer police man-years in 2011 than in 2010.

Scope of man-years varies between police districts ¹

If we measure the total number of man-years and police man-years against the size of the population in the various districts, relatively large disparities can be seen. As in previous years, Øst-Finnmark and Oslo Police District have by far the most police man-years per 1 000 inhabitants, with 3.1 and 2.6 respectively in 2011. The three police districts with the lowest share each had 1 police man-year per 1 000 inhabitants. Even with the redistribution that took place in 2011, these disparities in the districts have remained relatively stable since 2005.

Fewer reported offences in most, but not all types of offences

The police and prosecution authority registered a total of 380 000 new offences in 2011, of which almost 264 000 were crimes. In relation to 2010, 2.4 per cent fewer crimes and 6.2 per cent fewer misdemeanours were reported in 2011.

Fewer offences for profit, traffic misdemeanours, drug-related offences and cases of damage to property were reported in 2011 than in 2010. In absolute numbers, the greatest reduction was for offences for profit, while damage to property was the category of offence with the largest percentual reduction, at 8.5 per cent. The scope of reported violent offences was on a par with previous years, while the number of sex-related crimes was higher than previous years. The reduction in misdemeanours was largely related to the 7.9 per cent drop in traffic misdemeanours in 2011 compared to 2010.

Local changes in resource and activity indicators after 22 July

The statistics on reported offences in 2011 showed 111 murders, of which 77 were committed in Oslo and on the island of Utøya on 22 July 2011. The fall in reported drug-related and traffic offences is also an indication that major changes are likely to have taken place in police control activity and the police’s use of resources in the second half of 2011.

A comparison with the seasonal variations in the period 2006-2010 shows a reduction in the number of registered drug-related offences from June through August 2011. This reduction is particularly prevalent in some of the affected districts. However, a corresponding comparison shows that relatively many drug-related offences were registered in September and October 2011 compared to previous years. This indicates that the follow-up after the events of 22 July had a relatively local and time-limited impact on the general prosecution activity in the police and prosecution authority in 2011.

We have observed that these events resulted in a redistribution of police man-years in several police districts. There were also some corresponding reallocations and increases in expenses in some of the districts, but for the most part these were no more extensive than many of the changes in previous years. In other words, it appears that the follow-up after the events of 22 July has also had a relatively limited impact on the general use of resources in the police and prosecution authority in 2011.

Police’s civilian work

In addition to the work of the police and prosecution authority relating to crime, they also have many other tasks within the administration and civil administration of justice at elementary level. For example, through the enforcement officer, the police received 5 100 applications for debt settlements and more than 242 000 applications for writ of execution in 2011. The number of applications for writ of execution saw a 23 and 6.9 per cent increase from 2008 and 2010 respectively.

Fewer cases in the immigration administration

The police receive and prepare many cases within immigration administration, and can make decisions in several types of cases where there is no doubt that the conditions are met (for more details about the types of cases and cooperation with other agencies see Immigration regulation StatRes ). In 2011, the police received a total of 171 500 applications and other cases within immigration administration, which is 12.2 per cent fewer than in 2010.

The vast majority of cases relate to issues concerning residency and work in Norway, and in 2011 police work relating to the immigration administration included 60 100 cases of registering EEA nationals, 27 400 applications for family reunification and almost 13 300 applications for Norwegian citizenship. This is 11, 18 and almost 9 per cent fewer respectively than in 2010. The police also executed 4 744 forced returns in 2011, which is almost 3 per cent more than in 2010 and twice as many as in 2008.