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CRIME

Norway announces large boost to police spending to fight crime

An additional 2.8 billion kroner will be put towards fighting crime in Norway in 2025, and the government announced Monday that a fast-track court for young offenders will also be introduced.

Published: 16 September 2024 13:26 CEST
Pictured is a police bike in Norway.
Norway has announced a boost to police spending. Pictured is a police bike in Norway. Credit_ Stasys Kudarauskas Getty Images

Ahead of the revised national budget being introduced in the next few weeks, the government announced a headline proposal on Monday

Some 2.8 billion kroner extra would be spent fighting crime next year. Of this figure, 2.5 billion would go directly to the police.

“We planned a historic investment in the police in the revised budget. What we are announcing today is that we are taking that level further,” PM Jonas Gahr Støre told a press conference on Monday.

The PM hoped the money would be used to boost the number of officers out on patrol.

“Now we expect the police to use these funds for precisely what we are going to see, namely a strengthening of basic staffing. That means more police officers on the streets,” Støre said.

Støre would also propose the introduction of a fast-track system for young offenders.

“We have made changes that mean that young people who commit crime get a faster reaction and follow-up. Now we are taking another step and ensuring that a fast track is established at the court in Oslo for young offenders, with the aim of coming into force this year,” Støre said.

“It requires rapid processing in the Storting (Norway’s parliament). The proposal is there. The Storting meets in October. So now it’s just a matter of getting it done the right way,” he added.

Police would also receive more resources to seize criminal proceeds and technology to uncover and catch criminals.

More money would also be spent on ankle tags for those awaiting trial.

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POLITICS

How Norway’s 2025 budget will impact foreign residents

Norway’s government won’t unveil its budget for another few weeks, but several proposals, such as income tax cuts, have already been made public. Here's how foreign residents in Norway will be affected.

Published: 19 September 2024 12:06 CEST
How Norway's 2025 budget will impact foreign residents

Norway’s budget for 2025 will be unveiled on October 7th. It is the last budget the current government will present before the general election next year.

Tax cuts

Finance minister Trygve Slagsvold Vedum said this summer that those on ordinary incomes would pay less income tax in 2025. How much income tax will be cut is currently unknown.

Tax residents of Norway currently pay a flat tax rate of 22 percent, and then a further “bracket tax” based on how much they earn. For example, those who earn up to 670,000 kroner per year pay a four percent bracket tax, while those making between 670,001 and 937,900 kroner pay a 13.6 percent bracket tax.

READ ALSO: How does Norway’s bracket tax for income work?

Norway’s tax card system would also be tweaked to benefit those with part-time jobs. Next year, you can earn up to 100,000 before paying tax. This could benefit foreign students in Norway.

Finances

The government will continue its electric subsidy for households next year. The government announced its intention to continue the policy this spring.

Currently, the state covers 90 percent of the electricity price above 73 øre per kWh – or 91.25 øre including VAT.

Residents of Norway’s 212 least central municipalities will have 25,000 kroner of their student loans written off per year from 2026.

Those in Finnmark and Nord-Troms will have their loans written off at a rate of 60,000 kroner a year.

READ MORE: The incentives to attract people to northern Norway

Crime

The government will spend an extra 2.8 billion kroner on fighting crime. Of this, 2.4 billion kroner will go directly to beefing up the number of police officers in Norway. Some 90 million kroner would be put towards cracking down on financial crime.

Furthermore, 405 million kroner would also be spent on fighting youth crime, by creating a fast track court for young offenders and creating more juvenile detention places.

Travel changes

Up to 2.9 billion kroner extra spending will go into maintaining Norway’s rail infrastructure. Signal and track failures have been a constant source of delays in east Norway, where services regularly struggle with punctuality.

Over 12 billion kroner will be spent on Norway’s rail system.

Norway could finally reveal more details on its proposed tourist tax. The country’s industry minister, Cecilie Myrseth, has previously said that a proposal would be tabled this autumn.

The minister didn’t say whether this would be related to the raft of proposals included in the budget.

A potential tourist tax has long been promised by the current government as part of the Hurdal Agreement it was formed on in 2021.

As part of its budget cooperation with the Socialist Left Party, the government will be required to assess whether a subsidy scheme should be introduced for long-distance bus travel in Norway.

Bus routes without an alternative, such as train, could be subsidised under the scheme.

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