PST Criticized for Lack of Resources in Counter-Terrorism Efforts

PST’s task is to ensure that we are safe, but this week there was an evaluation report the likes of which we have hardly seen. The criticism against PST was fierce.

The committee is clear that PST lacks resources for counter-terror, which PST chief Beate Gangås has warned the Minister of Justice and the government about several times.

– I am in dialogue with the Ministry of Justice about it, I see the report is clear on that and yes we are stretching resources, said the PST chief when she was a guest on the TV 2 program Frankly on Friday.

– Does that mean that you have to opt out of people and issues, which you should strictly follow?

– Yes, it means that.

– So what you are saying is that you should, for example, have intelligence on certain people who may pose a threat to Norway, for which you then do not have the capacity?

– Part of what we call acquisition capacities, for example reconnaissance, is in great demand. We must constantly prioritize how we use those resources.

Increases the risk of terrorism

– But surely that increases the risk of terrorist acts in our society?

– Yes, when we now see the situation we are in, where the messages that come in increase and the level of activity increases. It makes strong demands on us and even greater demands on priorities.

– But does it increase the risk of terrorism in Norway when you have too few resources?

– The more resources we have, the better job we can do with every single message we receive, and the safer it will be, replies Gangås.

What did the Minister of Justice know?

The committee is clear that PST must talk to the Ministry of Justice about the resource situation.

– Have you not told the Minister of Justice that you have critically few resources for operational activities, for example for intelligence?

– In the field of counter-terrorism and the collection capacities, we have a need that we must now be clear about to the ministry, and I perceive them to be responsive, says Gangås in Frankly speaking.

– But have you told the ministry that you have too few resources, that you have to opt out of cases, tips and people you should strictly follow?

– Yes, we have communicated it, but we can become better at telling and showing what the situation really is, replies Gangås.

– So you haven’t been clear enough?

– I have tried to be clear, but I have not sat in the chair as head of PST for more than six months. I will promise that I will be clear.

The committee points out that there is a general opinion in parts of PST that the E-service tends to exaggerate. That is the explanation why PST did not take the message from the E-service about a possible terrorist attack five days before the attack on 25 June last year seriously enough.

– Where does this attitude come from?

– I want to look into that, says Gangås.

Talked to the boss in the E-service

Gangås believes she does not know enough about why there is a general perception in parts of PST that the E-service tends to exaggerate.

– I can imagine that it could be that one does not know enough about the role of the other, that one must learn more about the mission of the E-service. We have to work on this, says the PST manager.

Beate Gangås says that she has already been in contact with the head of the E-service and the two will work together to change the culture.

– But not trusting a collaboration partner like the E-service?

– Yes, it is very special when it is such a professional partner as the E-service that we depend on, says Beate Gangås.

See the full interview here: