The Police Directorate obtained the consent of the Ministry of Justice and Preparedness for Crisis Situations to extend the temporary arming of the Police for a period of up to eight weeks from March 6, 2021.
Weapons expand based on PST's assessment that the terrorist threat from extreme Islamism has increased.
– The Police maintains a close dialogue with PST and constantly assesses the need to gradually withdraw, extend or take new measures in response to changes in the threat picture. The Police Directorate considers that the current situation has not changed and, with the consent of the Ministry of Justice and Emergency Preparedness, has decided to extend the temporary arming the police for a period of up to eight weeks, says police director Benedicte Bjørnland.
At the end of this period, a new assessment will be made as to whether the program should be lifted or extended.
Service Police Security (PST)
The national PST threat assessment is one of three public threat and risk assessments published in the first quarter of each year. The rest are issued by the Intelligence Service and the National Security Office.
Police Security Service (PST) is the Norwegian national intelligence and security service, reporting to the Ministry of Justice and Emergency Preparedness. PST is tasked with preventing and investigating cases serious crimes against the security of the nation. As part of this, the service will identify and assess threats related to intelligence, sabotage, proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, terrorism and extremism. Assessments contribute to policy formulation and support political decision-making processes. The annual PST threat assessment is part of open social communication service, which describes the expected developments in the threat picture.
Work on the risk assessment for 2021 They continued during a period marked by a global pandemic. National authorities in most countries face significant challenges in meeting citizens' health and financial security needs. However, closing communes and extensive travel restrictions have significant costs. Long-term consequences of the pandemic coronavirus and their impact on the threat picture are uncertain.