Fjarðabyggð council rejects plan to merge police districts

The Fjarðabyggð municipal council has strongly opposed plans to merge the police districts in East Iceland, South Iceland and the Westman Islands, and is demanding that the proposal be dropped, mbl.is reports.

The council rejects the closure of an independent police district in East Iceland and the transfer of police command out of the region. It says local authorities have long called for more officers, better equipment and increased border checks, and that moving senior management would not address those needs.

In a formal statement, the council said that reducing the number of districts and changing the organisational structure would not strengthen policing. It stressed the scale of business and port activity in East Iceland, as well as the need for local knowledge and local civil protection management in response to natural hazards.

The council said assurances that police stations would remain open and that an assistant police commissioner would be appointed were not enough to guarantee local decision-making. It called for clear information about authority, staffing, funding and civil protection management, and urged increased police staffing, better equipment and funding that reflects the scale of the region’s needs.