Norwegian horror puts local response under a harsh spotlight

A SENIOR Norwegian officer believes the ability for small districts to deal with major incidents will come under great scrutiny after the massacre by Anders Breivik.

The right-wing extremist has admitting killing 77 people after causing an explosion in Oslo and then going on a shooting spree in the small island of Utøya.

The deaths have led to the creation of the 22 July Commission, named for the date of the atrocity, which will look to see what lessons can be learned by police and other officials.

Chief Police Officer Benedicte Bjørnland, who is from a different part of Norway to where the killings took place, said: “It’s too early to draw any conclusions, but already it has led to debate about the police’s response time and whether they were adequately prepared.

“Many have claimed that the local patrol should have gone by speedboat and not waited for the national operational squad from Oslo.

“I would not be surprised if aome people say small districts are not equipped to handle such attacks.

“But is it at all fair to expect that we can have local police who are prepared for such an incident?

“I don’t have answers, but if that is the expectation we will need a substantial increase in police resources and numbers.”

Mr Bjørnland said Breivik’s massacre of youth members of the country’s ruling Labour party was carried out in opposition to Norway’s immigration rules and its multicultural society.