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Norwegian police slammed for slow response to rampage

World Jul. 27, 2011 - 06:31AM JST ( 20 )

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20 Comments

-2

chewitupJul. 27, 2011 - 09:42AM JST

Yeah, I am just surprised we haven't heard more about that slow response til now.

The police put all their eggs and one basket (all attention on the bomb, all pilots on holiday) and it is a basic and unforgiveable error.
-2

BreitbartVictoriousJul. 27, 2011 - 10:17AM JST

Absolutely shameful

Instead, Delta Force police officers made the 25-mile journey by car—they have no helicopter—then had to be rescued by a civilian craft when their boat broke down as it tried to navigate a one-minute hop to the island.
-4

AlphaapeJul. 27, 2011 - 10:22AM JST

So much for the "Nanny State" being able to take care of all the needs of a country.
-2

BreitbartVictoriousJul. 27, 2011 - 10:50AM JST

SWAT team arrived at the island at 6.25 p.m., Breivik surrendered two minutes later without a fight.
-1

yabitsJul. 27, 2011 - 11:17AM JST

He said a competent anti-terrorist agency would have identified Breivik before he struck because of his purchases of bomb-making ingredients and specialist weaponry.

That's the failure right there. Combined with his right-wing extremist views, he was a bomb ready to go off.

So much for the "Nanny State" being able to take care of all the needs of a country.

Yes, at that rate Norway will have to go on for another century just to catch up to the carnage that the US racks up in the average week.
-2

TatankaJul. 27, 2011 - 12:59PM JST

Sounds like the Keystone Cops, Norwegian style...
-4

AlphaapeJul. 27, 2011 - 01:46PM JST

Yes, at that rate Norway will have to go on for another century just to catch up to the carnage that the US racks up in the average week.

@yabits: This story is about Norway and not the US. Stay on topic. Read the article closely, and see what state of affairs the special police was in. A prudent country, just looking at what has happened in othe European countries would have at least taken steps to make sure that they maintain readiness to face the growing threats. Not from one particular group, but from how any group uses the tactics that seem prevelant in the world today to cause mayhem and terror in countries.
-3
chewitupJul. 27, 2011 - 01:53PM JST

This story is about Norway and not the US. Stay on topic.

Better yet, how about you figure out what a fair comparison is? It was you citing one isolated incident meaning a failure of a "nanny" state. I am no fan of nanny states myself. But if this one case means a failure, then anyone with ten times similar problems must be Satan incarnate! And I mean anyone, not just the U.S. Man, are you just here to annoy people or what? You are almost on the level of BV lately.
- ModeratorJul. 27, 2011 - 02:10PM JST
  
  Readers, please stay on topic and keep the discussion civil.
-2

AlphaapeJul. 27, 2011 - 02:55PM JST

Better yet, how about you figure out what a fair comparison is? It was you citing one isolated incident meaning a failure of a "nanny" state. I am no fan of nanny states myself. But if this one case means a failure, then anyone with ten times similar problems must be Satan incarnate! And I mean anyone, not just the U.S. Man, are you just here to annoy people or what? You are almost on the level of BV lately.

@chewitup: Read the article closely. See how it goes into the details of the police failures. Then go and do research on what services the Norwegian Govt. gives to Norewegian citizens (including immigrants) such as up to a year off for childbirth (both parents) and the other perks and bennies that comes from the government.

Then come back and tell me that a government that can put that much into making sure that people are "taken care of" can be so incompetent as to not look outside of their borders (in this case inside too) and see that there are people who will do as much harm as possible to their society, and should at least be better prepared to defend and provide protection to their people.
-2

chewitupJul. 27, 2011 - 04:32PM JST

Alphaape, abundant government services hardly explains this isolated incident. That dog won't hunt. Ever.

You could make at least a half-way decent argument that had those kids been armed, yada, yada. But it would only be half-way decent and would have little to do with this nanny state claim.
-2

AlphaapeJul. 27, 2011 - 04:50PM JST

Alphaape, abundant government services hardly explains this isolated incident. That dog won't hunt. Ever.

You could make at least a half-way decent argument that had those kids been armed, yada, yada. But it would only be half-way decent and would have little to do with this nanny state claim.

@chewitup: Actually, you made the argument for me. Not so much that children need to be armed, but the fact that the belief of Norwegians that their police should not be armed. Do a search and you will see some of the policies of the Norway police. Most are not armed. Those in patrol cars do have guns, but they are unloaded and can only be used with permission from a supervisor.

That type of mentality, is what leads to an ineffective police force. Not saying that they should be "Dirty Harry's" but when you have a populace that believes their law enforcement personnel should be strictly regulated to the point that they are ineffective in terms of their material readiness (i.e. only one police helicopter in the area, and it seats 4 persons and one is an engineer; boats that sink when they are loaded with police due to the fact that they are overloaded beyond what it was designed for), you get what you pay for.

A government that is not too concerned about public safety in regards to enforcing the laws, but making sure that you get a year off for maternity leave, will usually end up with a police force like this.
-3

miyazawa3Jul. 27, 2011 - 06:47PM JST

he is kind fella...
-1

arrestpaulJul. 27, 2011 - 09:54PM JST

“Norway is behind other Western European countries in adapting internal security structures and procedures to face terrorist challenges,” Reinares said. “But there was also an amazing failure in police preparedness and reaction, both in terms of human resources and technical capabilities.”

To be fair, Norway hasn't had a need to use this type of anti-terrorism/lone monster, fast-reacting police force. While an organization and response plan existed, training and preparedness was allowed to stagnate. I assume they've learned that even Norway is not immune from irrational, random and senseless violence.
0

TheQuestionJul. 27, 2011 - 10:11PM JST

Peaceful country with a small population. While it's unfortunate that the Norway police weren't adequately prepared but it isn't that surprising. I'm wondering why a camp of that size didn't have their own security force, not necessarily a police force mind you, but some kind of armed camp guard to deal with thieves, wild animals, and the like.
1

Eric SchneiderJul. 28, 2011 - 02:00AM JST

It would seem that Norway didn't learn anything from it's neighbors about rapid response to crimes in progress. Maybe they were just lulled into a false sense that "this kind of thing can't happen in Norway." I'm sorry to see that they've had to learn such a lesson.
0

sfjp330Jul. 28, 2011 - 04:53AM JST

What's surprising is that country like Norway, who is the member of NATO and had few hundred troops in Iraq until 2005, and Norway currently has around 500 soldiers in Afghanistan was caught off guard by lack of preparedenss in the emergency situation. If Norway was not involved in NATO or have no troops in the war zone, I could understand, but the head of the defense understood the possiblities of terrorist and did nothing to prepare. Norway need to get a new defense minister that has better plans.
-1

yabitsJul. 28, 2011 - 05:02AM JST

If Norway was not involved in NATO or have no troops in the war zone, I could understand, but the head of the defense understood the possiblities of terrorist and did nothing to prepare.

You make an excellent point.

I believe that Norway's intelligence services were very well prepared for an attack that required the planning that this one did -- just not to have it originate from a fellow Norwegian. It seems that in today's world, we truly have to imagine what appears to be unimaginable.
0

arrestpaulJul. 28, 2011 - 11:26AM JST

yabits - I believe that Norway's intelligence services were very well prepared for an attack that required the planning that this one did -- just not to have it originate from a fellow Norwegian.

No they weren't. Their overloaded police boat's motor quit running. The police helicopter is too small and all of the pilots were on holiday. The lone security guard wasn't even armed. If it wasn't for a tourist with a boat, they may not have reached the island at all.