Posted on 08/23/2005 4:07:23 AM PDT by franksolich
Staff at Vardø police station in northern Norway are exasperated for an unusual reason - they have too little to do.
Vardø, an urban municipality with around 2,400 residents, lost its status as a separate police district during a recent reform, stripping it of responsibility for key tasks, newspaper VG reports.
At the same time, crime in Vardø has been significantly reduced, leaving the remaining officers with a lot of empty time on their hands. A lack of funds for overtime pay means that evening duty is scarce, and so potential crimes are not being detected.
"At the present time we have too few assignments in relation to the number of positions," Stein-Erik Johnsen, head of the federation of police unions in East Finnmark, told VG.
"It is terrible to sit and watch people who don't have enough to fill their working day. It has gone so far that it is a problem for the working environment," Johnsen told magazine Politiforum.
Ah, yes, the old "Potential Crimes" problem ~ did they lift that from Bartcop?
Here, as if they aren't busy enough, they make new laws all the time. These laws are meant to protect us from ourselves (and to raise mooooooore money). Seatbelt laws, helmet laws, mini motorbike laws,.....pretty soon, dress codes will probably be enforced.
Lutefisk and lefse bump!
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