Minority background?
Expertise and knowledge – including the special knowledge that you as person with a minority background possess – are essential for a police officer, particularly to gain trust. Today’s diverse society calls for a diverse police force in order to understand, respond to the needs and earn the confidence of the general public.
Why diversity?
The Norwegian Police Service seeks to adequately reflect the makeup of Norwegian society. The society we live in is diverse in many ways. The Police Service must represent this diversity and ensure that our police officers treat every individual they deal with in a professional and inclusive manner. If the Norwegian Police Service is to match the pace of development in the rest of society, fight crime in the future and provide all Norwegian citizens with the law enforcement services they require it must possess broad expertise.
This expertise is a combination of the knowledge you gain through your training at the Norwegian Police University College and the knowledge you bring from your particular background.
All individuals are different, and promoting diversity involves acknowledging these differences, whether they are due to gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, age or religious or political beliefs. Diversity is about accepting and respecting these differences and about being inclusive and appreciating the contributions of each and every individual.
In order to effectively carry out police work, the Police Service must have legitimacy among the population. Legitimacy has been shown to be closely linked to the police force’s ability to reflect the society it operates in. When police officers do their job well and are representative of the population, this builds trust. A diverse student body at the Police University College will ensure that in the future the Norwegian Police Service will better reflect society and be in a better position to maintain and boost the trust of the general public.
Status and trust?
In other parts of the world people have a completely different image of the police than we do in Norway, often viewing them as corrupt and untrustworthy. Thankfully, corruption is not a widespread phenomenon in the Norwegian Police Service.
Surveys show that police officers are one of the occupational groups that enjoy the highest level of trust among the Norwegian population in general; however, younger citizens with minority backgrounds show lesser trust in the police. We seek to remedy this situation by recruiting a larger number of promising students with minority backgrounds.
Our academic degree programmes
The Norwegian Police University College currently offers two degree programmes: a Bachelor’s degree in Police Studies and a Master’s degree in Police Science. Students who have earned a Bachelor’s degree can continue on to higher-level studies at other universities and university colleges. Police officers can also earn credits through several continuing education courses and programmes at the Police University College.
Stringent requirements?
If you are in normal physical shape you will able to pass the physical tests by following a targeted training programme. It is very important to familiarise yourself with the physical requirements well in advance of the test day and to begin training as soon as possible. (Click here to read and print out the requirements.) While the physical requirements remain the same from year to year, the required number of competitive points and grade point average may vary, based on the number of applicants.
Who decides?
It is vital that you are the one to choose the education you will pursue. There are many people around you – family and friends alike – who will have opinions about what you should do with your life. However, in the end it is you and you alone who can take this important decision that will shape your life for years to come.
A good salary and proper remuneration for the work one does are naturally important to many people when choosing a career, as are the opportunities for a varied working day and meaningful work. We strive to offer an optimal mix of these elements. It is essential that you know what is most important to you and make your career choice accordingly. After all, you will hopefully have many working years ahead of you and you will spend a large portion of your life on your career. So let your family and friends’ well-meaning advice remain just that and take the decision regarding your future career yourself.
Sist oppdatert:
26.05.2011