Eastern police chief says reform must strengthen policing

Kristmundur Stefán Einarsson, police chief in East Iceland, says planned changes to police districts must strengthen policing nationwide rather than reduce it, in an interview with mbl.is.

Justice Minister Þorbjörg Sigríður Gunnlaugsdóttir has proposed cutting the number of police districts from nine to three. Einarsson said he hoped commitments to reinforce policing would be honoured, but that nothing was guaranteed. Ensuring the changes do not lead to cuts would be a major challenge, he said.

Einarsson said he had not considered his next steps, but would very likely accept an offer to lead one of the new districts. He said East Iceland’s police had developed significant expertise in areas including civil protection and drug imports, and that the headquarters of a new district could be based there.

He questioned how the new districts would manage their large geographical areas. Under the proposed changes, the settlements of Selfoss and Vopnafjörður would fall within the same district, despite being 644 kilometres apart.

Einarsson said the changes could create an opportunity to strengthen policing through broader expertise within each district and fewer police chiefs and administrative responsibilities. But the outcome would depend on how the changes were designed and implemented, he said.

He added that it had not been explained in detail how the government planned to strengthen the police service through the restructuring.