– If she had taken the report seriously, she would of course have understood that NNPF members cannot work on the clean-up, says MDG leader Arild Hermstad.
The report he refers to, which was published in January, was signed by the so-called Role Understanding Committee.
They concluded that for a number of years there has been a problematic mix of roles between the police and the private drug policy interest organization Norwegian Narcotics Police Association (NNPF).
Police director Benedicte Bjørnland has taken self-criticism and promised a clean-up.
– Not a strength
So now Minister of Justice Emilie Enger Mehl (Sp) confirms that there are former and current NNPF members among the employees of the Directorate of Police who are working on this clean-up.
It appears in a written responsefrom Mehl to MDG politician Lan Marie Berg, which was published on Wednesday.
“The directorate considers it a strength for the follow-up work that employees have different backgrounds and also include people with different association memberships,” writes the Minister of Justice, among other things.
– It seems that Mehl does not understand what the report is about. If she had read it, she would have understood that there is no strength in NNPF members participating in the clean-up, says Hermstad.
– You’re implying that she hasn’t read the report?
ACTION IS REQUIRED: MDG leader Arild Hermstad is calling for more concrete plans for cleaning up the collusion between the police and NNPF. Photo: Ole Berg-Rusten / NTB
sea view
– I think it is a strange understanding to have if she has read it.
– Could it not be a strength that people with different perspectives participate in the clean-up, as Mehl points out?
– You must of course have broad representation, but it is very wrong to think that it is a strength to have someone from NNPF with you when you have to clean up a relationship that has been problematic. Then you just want to continue the same way of thinking, replies Hermstad.
– Will not participate
It is the Norwegian Police Directorate which, upon request, has stated that there are NNPF members among employees who are involved in the follow-up work, according to Mehl.
“When it comes to POD’s direct follow-up towards the NNPF in the future, former and current members of the NNPF will not participate in this dialogue,” she writes further in her reply to Berg.
Dagbladet submitted the criticism to Mehl on Wednesday afternoon, but has not yet received a reply.
