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| About the Icelandic police and links |
| The history of the Icelandic Police can be traced back to the year 1778 when two night-patrolmen were instated in the capitol of Reykjavik. Although they were by order police officers their main duty was fire patrol, which at that time was one of the biggest hazards facing the town. This is the way the police was operated until the beginning of the 20th century when the force was called �The Police-Fire-brigade�. The police in Reykjavik was formally formed in the year 1803 when the King appointed a Sheriff for the town. He was to have two police officers to assist him. This is the first time police officers wore uniforms, they used Danish uniforms a red coat with green collar. The first two police officers were not up to the task. They were Danish and were known for their drinking. One of them lost his office in 1804 after only serving one year for drinking. The other one was a police officer until the year 1814 when he returned to Denmark. His biggest claim to fame came from his founding an illegal nightclub and beating a prisoner to death. There were both Danish and Icelandic police officers working in Iceland to the year 1917 when the Sheriff's office was split in to Police and Customs. From that day the police in Iceland has evolved into the true professional Police force it is today. The Police in Iceland was a municipal service until the year 1972. On January 1st 1973 the Police became a state service, and has been since. The cost and maintenance of the Police force is the responsibility of the Central Government. The Minister of Justice is the supreme head of the police in Iceland. The National Commissioner of the Police administers police affairs under the minister�s authority. An exception is the Police Force at Keflavik International Airport, which falls under the responsibility of the Minister of Foreign Affairs. This is due to the fact that the area is a NATO military base. New law for the police came into action in the year 1997 with a new Police Act. At that time the National Commissioner�s office was established and various other changes were implemented. The Police force in Iceland is a civilian force and is structured in similar fashion as the police forces in Scandinavia. There are approximately 650 Police Officers in Iceland at this time. They are divided into 26 Police Districts through out the country. The head of each force is a Police Chief or Sheriff. The Police force in the Capitol Reykjavik is by far the largest force with almost half of the force. Districts vary in size onto districts with only one full time officer. The Police in Iceland are very restricted in the use of force. Police officers are only armed with a small baton and Mace gas, but are all trained in the use of firearms. For more dangerous task there are specially trained officer in the �Viking-Squad�. |
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