Iceland plans to add 200 people to police force

Iceland plans to expand its police workforce by 200 people in the coming years and reduce the number of police districts from nine to three, National Police Commissioner Halla Bergþóra Björnsdóttir told mbl.is. The changes are part of a new five-year policing plan announced by the justice minister last week.

Björnsdóttir said Iceland faces a changing, complex threat landscape in which the boundaries between internal and external security are less clear. She described the police as having a key role in addressing these threats and said effective organisation, clear strategy and supportive legislation were important.

The plan focuses on three areas: a reliable police service, a safe society, and professional, forward-looking policing. Its aims include making police more visible, providing reliable information, improving how data is analysed and ensuring cases are handled fairly and without undue delay, while maintaining their quality.

Björnsdóttir said public trust in the police was central to a safe society. She also highlighted emergency preparedness, resilience, crime prevention, border challenges and gender-based violence.

Cybercrime and cybersecurity have grown substantially in recent years and now represent an ongoing threat, she said. She also described organised crime and a darker turn in Iceland’s criminal underworld, where violence has become a commodity.