Minister for Foreign Affairs Gunnar Bragi Sveinsson expressed his opinion today that the police in Iceland must have the necessary powers to protect the country’s citizens. National security has been in discussion in Iceland in recent days after the National Commissioner of the Icelandic Police published a report on security earlier this week and after it was reported on Monday that an asylum seeker in Iceland had declared his support for IS.
Gunnar Bragi will submit a parliamentary resolution on a national security strategy for Iceland in the coming days, ruv.is reports. The resolution is built on suggestions from committees which cross political lines and which were especially set up to work on the project.
The strategy does not call for a special national security institute or department or to increase police powers but the idea is to establish a national security council.
“This is an issue that we have to review regularly, how we prioritize and measure risks at each point in time. I am not stipulating whether it is the police authorities or others who should have these powers. It is my personal opinion … that the police must have the necessary authority to protect citizens, but the police must use the authority wisely,” Gunnar Bragi said in response to a question from Birgitta Jónsdóttir, leader of the Pirate Party.
