Norwegian Police Service

Norwegian Police Service Politi- og lensmannsetaten
Coat of arms
Common name	Politi
Agency overview
Formed	13th century
Employees	13,000
Annual budget	13 billion kr (2010)
Jurisdictional structure
National agency	Norway
Operations jurisdiction	Norway
General nature	Local civilian police
Operational structure
Minister responsible	Emilie Enger Mehl, Minister of Justice and Public Security
Agency executive	Odd Reidar Humlegård, National Police Commissioner
Parent agency	Ministry of Justice and Public Security
National units	List National Criminal Investigation Service National Authority for Investigation and Prosecution of Economic and Environmental Crime in Norway National Police Immigration Service National Mobile Police Service Norwegian Border Commissioner National Police Computing and Material Service Norwegian Police University College
Police districts	12
Facilities
Stations	66
Sheriff's offices	301
Helicopters	3 AgustaWestland AW169
Website
politi.no

The Norwegian Police Service (Norwegian: Politi- og lensmannsetaten) is the Norwegian national civilian police agency. The service dates to the 13th century when the first sheriffs were appointed, and the current structure established in 2003. It comprises a central National Police Directorate, seven specialty agencies and twelve police districts. The government agency is subordinate to the Ministry of Justice and Public Security and has 16,000 employees, of which 8,000 are police officers. In addition to police powers, the service is responsible for border control, certain civil duties, coordinating search and rescue operations, counterterrorism, highway patrolling, writ of execution, criminal investigation and prosecution. The directorate is led by National Police Commissioner Odd Reidar Humlegård.

Each police district is led by a chief of police and is subdivided into several police stations in towns and cities, and sheriffs' offices for rural areas. The Governor of Svalbard acts as chief of police for Svalbard. Norwegian police officers do not carry firearms, but keep their Heckler & Koch MP5 submachine guns and Heckler & Koch P30 pistols locked down in the patrol cars. The Norwegian Prosecuting Authority is partially integrated with the police.

Specialist agencies within the services include the National Criminal Investigation Service, the National Authority for Investigation and Prosecution of Economic and Environmental Crime (Økokrim), the National Police Immigration Service, the National Mobile Police Service, the Norwegian Border Commissioner, the National Police Computing and Material Service and the Norwegian Police University College. Several other national responsibilities are under the command of Oslo Police District, such as the police tactical unit Delta and the two police helicopters. The Police Security Service is separate from the National Police Directorate.