Nakholmen in the Oslo Fjord, September 2017: A foreign citizen kills a man in his 50s.
Landås in Bergen, February 2018: A man kills his own mother with ax.
Haugesund, February 2019: A man kills a random woman a cemetery with an ax.
Øygarden, June 2019: A 41-year-old kills both his parents with knife, but was found criminally insane because he was psychotic at the time of the crime.
In all the cases, the perpetrator had been admitted shortly before the murder was carried out to receive psychological help. These are some examples of predicted disasters that have ended with the worst possible outcomes in recent years.
– Colleagues of the killed woman in her 50s laid flowers outside the Nav building at Årstad in Bergen on Tuesday. Photo: Tor Henning Flaatten / TV 2
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Will detect system failure
Psychologist specialist Pål Grøndahl has 20 years of experience as a forensic psychiatric expert, and he is one of Norway’s foremost experts on homicide.
He believes that Norway should consider establishing its own homicide commission, corresponding to what it has for aircraft and boat accidents. In this way, the researcher believes one could uncover whether the system failed prior to each individual homicide, and take this knowledge with it to prevent homicides in the future.
– Norway should definitely consider establishing such a commission, says Grondahl to TV 2.
Following the murder at the Nav office in Bergen, it has emerged that neighbors sent several messages of concern to both the police and the municipality about the man now charged with murder in his late 30s.
Grondahl speaks on a general basis, but believes that a possible homicide commission could have formed a better picture of the situation than how an ordinary homicide investigation is solved today.
– Psychologist specialist Pål Grøndahl believes that a homicide commission could have contributed to gaining more knowledge about possible system errors. Photo: Tom Rune Orset / TV 2
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– I think a commission can look for a bigger picture, was it a system failure, was there something that could be done differently? It is not to find fault with some scapegoats, but simply to see if there was something that could have been done differently, says Grondahl to TV 2.
Defends the use of resources
In 2020, 28 murder cases were registered in Norway. The psychologist specialist believes that the low number of murders makes the idea of such a commission feasible, even though he acknowledges that it can be resource-intensive.
– It may be, but now we already have an Accident Investigation Board for public transport. And I think that yes, legal certainty costs, security costs, and I think that there should not be greater resources than Norway has.
And even if the commission should cost, Grondahl is convinced that it will be worth it. He believes that a so-called zero vision regarding murder is almost impossible, but points out that preventing a murder will potentially be infinitely valuable for those affected.
– The experience we could get from this commission, could make us prevent only two to three murders a year, it is very much just that.
Political support
Grondahl’s proposal now receives political support in the Storting. The Center Party’s Jenny Klinge sits on the Storting’s Justice Committee, and goes so far as to claim that the Norwegian authorities can and should do more to prevent murder.
– I think it is an interesting proposal and something we should definitely look into. We hear about these murder cases where warning lights have flashed beforehand. It’s so horribly unnecessary and awful when such things happen. I do not think society catches it well enough today, so something should be done, says Klinge to TV 2.
– The Center Party’s Jenny Klinge has extensive experience from the Justice Committee and is a big supporter of the proposal. Photo: Ole Martin Wold / NTB
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– Happens time and time again
The justice politician is aware that there are too many predicted disasters in this country, which has terrible and long-lasting consequences.
– Even though we fortunately have few murders in Norway, it happens time and time again that people are killed even after it has sounded alarm bells. And I do not think there is any doubt that we do not know enough about why it happens, Klinge states.
In a few days, the Center Party will enter into exploratory talks with the Labor Party and the Socialist People’s Party. If all goes smoothly, Klinge, with his 12 years of experience from the Justice Committee, can be a potential candidate for the post of Minister of Justice. This can be good news for a commission.
– I think this proposal from Pål Grøndahl is very interesting and I want to take a closer look at it as a justice politician for the party. Now I am not saying that we will set up an “accident commission” for murder cases, but I actually think it is so interesting that it is something we are guaranteed to take a closer look at, Klinge assures.
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