– Weakening trust in our police authorities – VG

Tuesday wrote VG about the Norwegian Narcotics Police Association’s (NNPF) involvement in an agreement on alcohol serving between Kristiansand municipality, the police and the Norwegian Labor Inspection Authority.

The agreement included a requirement that the pubs had to hang up a sign from the NNPF, which, among other things, required them to deny visitors who carry legalization symbols access. If the bar agreed to the agreement, they were allowed to drop dots from the bar inspection.

Attorney John Christian Elden believed that NNPF’s involvement in the agreement appears to be «corrupt».

Now both Katrine Holter, associate professor of law at the Police Academy, and leader of the Bar Association, Jon Wessel-Aas, are asking for an independent investigation of the collusion between the police and the drug policy association.

– The impression created is very unfortunate in a state governed by the rule of law. It weakens confidence in our police authorities. It benefits no one. The responsibility for cleaning up this lies with the Minister of Justice, says Wessel-Aas to VG and further points out:

– And if this is not done, the Storting at the Control and Constitution Committee should step in. This has taken place through several governments, so here the responsibility is also cross-political.

Wessel-Aas believes that the collusion that has emerged is something that the Police Directorate and the Ministry of Justice have also actively contributed to.

Several times this spring, the NNPF has been accused of role-playing. In April wrote VG about how the association had long used the police’s contact information. Later it came to light NRK that the association has received a total of almost 3 million directly from the police’s own budget.

– It is a management responsibility to intervene

It was Katrine Holter at the Police Academy who first went out on her Twitter account and asked for an investigation.

She points out to VG that it is important to emphasize that we have freedom of association in Norway, and that her criticism is not about NNPF’s right to exist or to work for its cause.

– What should be investigated is the relationship between the police and NNPF. One question is whether the NNPF until a few years ago has been allowed to act as too much police drug policy organization, she asks.

At the same time, she emphasizes that she does not speak on behalf of the Norwegian Police University College.

– As the state’s power apparatus, the police have both formal and informal power. It is a management responsibility to intervene if a private association borrows legitimacy from the police in its political activities, Holter continues.

Wessel-Aas tells VG that he agrees with Holter that an investigation should be initiated.

– In recent years, there have been many examples of role mixing among police officers who are also members of the private lobby organization NNPF, says the leader of the Norwegian Bar Association.

Paul Larsson, professor at the Police Academy, also tells VG that he supports the proposal for an investigation.

The Police Directorate does not respond to investigation proposals

VG has submitted to department director Bjørn Vandvik in the Police Directorate the criticism from Wessel-Aas and Holter, as well as their initiative for an independent investigation.

Vandvik does not comment on the investigation proposal, but tells VG that the Police Directorate, in light of several relevant cases recently, has implemented several measures to prevent role mixing.

– The Police Directorate is very concerned that there should be no ambiguity around, or doubts about the role and responsibility of the police. We take any ambiguities very seriously, says Vandvik.

He lists the measures that have been implemented:

• The Norwegian Police Directorate has clarified this again internally in the agency. Among other things, this was the topic of a general meeting for all police employees before the summer holidays.
• Work has been initiated to ensure the quality of information material used by the police. Only material that is quality-assured and that bears the police logo should be used.
• A review of practice regarding support for voluntary police organizations has also been initiated.

At the same time, Vandvik points out that they are careful to protect that employees in the police also have freedom of expression and organization.

The Ministry of Justice has also been presented with the same criticism. Communications adviser Andreas Skjøld-Lorange informs VG that Minister of Justice Monica Mæland is currently on Svalbard outside mobile phone coverage. She is thus unavailable to answer VG’s questions on Tuesday.

NNPF: Experiences that some “consciously want to misunderstand”

When asked how the Norwegian Narcotics Police Association (NNPF) views the proposal for an independent investigation, leader Jan-Erik Bresil answers that the association is run mainly on a voluntary basis with a desire to spread professional knowledge and prevent drug problems in society.

– We only speak on behalf of our association, not on behalf of, for example, the police, even though many of our members work there on a daily basis.

He does not specifically answer the question of a possible investigation.

Furthermore, Brazil says that the association tries to prevent misunderstandings around roles by having its own website, emails, logos and the like.

– Like everyone else, we can also make mistakes and will then improve. We experience that some who want a different drug policy than us deliberately want to misunderstand in order to remove our voice from the debate, the NNPF leader concludes.

Fear of trust in the police – wants police commission

Health policy spokesman for the Socialist Left Party (SV), Nicholas Wilkinson, tells VG that he is appalled to read the case about the liquor agreement from 2013.

He points out that SV earlier this year proposed appointing a police commission, without getting a majority for this in the Storting.

– Now it must soon be cleaned up here, he says to VG.

– We want a police commission to, among other things, look at confusion between NNPF and the police.

He supports the lawyers’ proposal for an independent investigation:

– Yes, we need an investigation, and it is crucial for everyone to be able to trust the police after this has come to light, Wilkinson says.

He emphasizes that he still has confidence in a majority of the police, but that the mix of roles has damaged the reputation and trust significantly.

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