inception national police directorate 
National Police Directorate ( Norwegian : Politidirektoratet ) a government agency subordinate to the Ministry of Justice and Public Security which heads the Norwegian Police Service . The directorate is led by the National Police Commissioner ( Politidirektør ) , who since 2012 has been Odd Reidar Humlegård . In Norway there is only one police force . The organisation of the Norwegian Police is largely based on the principle of an integrated police , that is that all the functions of the police are collected in one organisation . The Royal Ministry of Justice and Public Security is a Norwegian government ministry in charge of justice , police and domestic intelligence . The main purpose of the ministry is to provide for the maintenance and development of the basic guarantees of the rule of law . An overriding objective is to ensure the security of society and of individual citizens . The ministry was founded in ___MASK49___ and currently employs about ___MASK54___ people in the central government department . Its subordinate agencies include the Norwegian Police Service , the Norwegian Correctional Service , the Norwegian Police Security Service , the Norwegian Prosecuting Authority , the Judiciary of Norway and the Directorate of Immigration , and employ around 30 , 000 people . The Norwegian Police Service is the Norwegian civilian police agency . It consists of a central National Police Directorate , seven specialty agencies and twenty - seven police districts . The government agency is subordinate to the Ministry of Justice and Public Security and has ___MASK11___ , 000 employees , of which 8 , 000 are police officers . In addition to police powers , the service is responsible for border control , certain civil duties , coordinating search and rescue operations , counter - terrorism , highway patrolling , writ of execution , criminal investigation and prosecution . The Norwegian Police Security Service is the police security agency of Norway , somewhat comparable to the British MI5 ( Security Service ). The agency was previously known as " POT " ("" or Police Surveillance Agency ), the name change was dictated by the Parliament of Norway on ___MASK55___ June ___MASK71___ .