– This continued negative development from last year must be reversed, write Attorney General Jørn Sigurd Maurud and First State Attorney Katharina Rise in the circular Goals and priorities for 2023 which was published on Friday this week.
In the circular, it appears that the clarification percentage in 2022 ended at 44 per cent. This is a drop of 4.8 percentage points from the previous year, according to figures from the police Strasak report for 2021.
The resolution percentage refers to how many offenses receive a prosecution decision during a year, i.e. whether it is decided that someone should be punished, for example, or that the case is dropped.
Lowest since 2011
According to figures from the police, the clearance rate has fallen steadily every year since 2016.
Also in Objectives and priorities circular for 2022 asked the Attorney General for a higher clearance rate.
– This negative development must be reversed, the Attorney General wrote then.
According to the police’s figures, last year’s clearance rate is the lowest since 2011, and is the biggest drop in one year during the period.
Has received criticism
The police have previously been criticized for having too low and falling clearance rates for several types of crime. In March last year, the Auditor-General leveled serious criticism at the police, among other things, because the percentage of clearances in cases of sexual offenses has decreased.
NTB has requested an interview with Attorney General Jørn Sigurd Maurud about why an ever-lower proportion of cases are resolved.
– We will assess the results for 2022 in the joint report to be submitted to the ministry in mid-March and therefore do not think it is right to comment on this now, writes communications adviser Mie Skarpaas in the Office of the Attorney General in an email to NTB.
TAUS: Attorney-General Jørn Sigurd Maurud will not comment on the falling clearance rate Photo: Gorm Kallestad / NTB
The Norwegian Police Directorate will not comment on the case and refers the matter to the Attorney General.
– The development is worrying
The decrease in the proportion of resolved cases was taken up in a report from the Attorney General and the police on the processing of criminal cases for the second term of last year.
– The decline that is now registered for the clearance rate overall is particularly related to the fact that there have been changes in the police’s criminal case portfolio/crime picture, the report states.
There, the Attorney General and the police point out that there is a decrease in the percentage of investigations for all types of crime, including in priority areas such as violence.
– The development is worrying and must be followed carefully going forward, it says.
