BERGEN / OSLO (Dagbladet): – It is of course very sad. This is something that absolutely should not happen – there is really nothing more to say. The incident is tragic.
Torbjørn Langva (42) tells Dagbladet. Until 2013, the sociologist himself worked at Nav Årstad in Bergen, there two women were stabbed on Monday. A woman in her 50s died from the injuries she sustained, while a woman in her 20s recovered from the incident with minor physical injuries.
A man in his 30s is charged with murder and grievous bodily harm after the attack. He was remanded in custody on Tuesday, but has neither taken a position on the question of guilt nor acknowledged the actual actions.
– He is very affected by what has happened, he says defends Morten Grimstad to Dagbladet.
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– Dedicated and committed
Langva previously worked with the now deceased woman, but did not know her personally.
– I worked at another part of the Nav office, and it is a large Nav office with many employees, but I know who she was, he says.
– How would you describe her?
– She was a dedicated, good and committed employee who burned for her clients. It is certain that she will be missed.
Langva himself worked with what he describes as a difficult group of clients. This has led to him feeling threats to his body.
– Twice I have been in court due to threats, and that I have been tried for violence once, says the sociologist, who has told his story to Bergens Tidende earlier. In 2012, a man in his 20s was convicted of the death threats.
FORMER COLLEAGUE: Until 2013, Torbjørn Langva worked at the same Nav office as the woman who was stabbed and killed. The sociologist now works at Helse Bergen. Photo: Stian Drake / Dagbladet
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Langva believes that the focus was on the safety of the employees when he worked at Nav, and says that his department received training in how to meet difficult and challenging clients.
– Security is fresh and something that must be worked on all the time. The biggest challenge and my biggest question is whether there will be time for it in a busy workday. Maybe there should have been more focus and more training on it, but at the same time it is easy to be wise afterwards.
Laws review
So far this year, more than a thousand cases of threats or violence against Nav employees on a national basis have been reported. With the exception of the pandemic year 2020, the number in recent years has remained in excess of 2,000 incidents per year.
After an employee at Nav Grorud in Oslo was killed in 2013, the agency introduced several safety measures and training of employees. Researchers know NTNU concluded in 2018 that the investment in security had been «good», but also found «some potential for improvement».
Now more people are calling for a new review of measures and routines.
– A review will be made, where we must see if there are things we should do differently. It must also be considered nationally – whether we are properly set up, as we are today, says municipal director Tommy Johansen in Bergen municipality to Dagbladet.
– Were the safety routines followed in connection with the relevant meeting on Monday?
– It is one of the things we must look at. I experience the organization as very professional when it comes to following up on the safety routines we have established. I have not received any signal indicating that they were not followed here, but we will take a closer look at this when we have clarified the course of events.
Former Nav employee Vigdis (27): – Terrible
Was well taken care of
Langva believes that there have always been too many threats at the Nav offices, and perhaps believes that several of these incidents should have been reported.
He himself feels that his then leader was very concerned about this.
– We worked a lot with how we secured each other – not only in the office, but also when we visited the clients at home. It was something my leaders were very interested in, but again I worked in a special team, he says.
The 42-year-old has not felt particularly affected by the threats in recent years. He did, however, when the threats were made.
– When death threats are directed at you, you get scared. When someone threatens your life and may be intoxicated, or even worse perceived as psychotic, then you have no preconditions for knowing what the other person can do. It is only natural to be afraid then.
Neighbor of accused: – Heard thumping sounds
– How do you feel that you were taken care of after the events?
– It was a good experience. I think it is important to process the incident afterwards, and Nav had good routines for how to work after the incident. I feel like they have after this episode too.
The social worker says that he has been in contact with people who still work at the Nav office in Årstad, but he is not sure if they were present during the attack on Monday.
– Getting a colleague killed is an incredibly nasty situation and almost impossible to find good enough routines for, but it seems that they are taken care of well, says Torbjørn Langva.
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