Two Faroese parties propose transferring police powers in 2030

The governing coalition recommends against transferring responsibility for the police, prosecution service and criminal justice administration now, while Tjóðveldi and Framsókn propose making the transfer in 2030, KVF reported.

The Foreign Affairs Committee has discussed Tjóðveldi’s proposal at three meetings and issued a report. Its majority says a detailed report on a possible transfer, written by Faroese and Danish officials in 2003, should be reviewed. The government is updating the report and expects to finish the work next year.

Tjóðveldi and Framsókn say the transfer should go ahead, but in 2030 rather than 2028. Høgni Hoydal and Bjarni Kárason Petersen said the committee’s discussions had made clear that the police, prosecution service and criminal justice administration are managed outside the democratic system and elected authorities in the Faroe Islands.

The committee was told by the Danish National Police that policing and prosecution in the Faroe Islands cost 181.3 million kroner a year.