Discretion as an Obstacle: Police Culture, Change, and Governance in a Norwegian Context

The article analyse how the framing of police culture within two cases influence change within the police organization and lead to new measures through which to achieve police legitimacy and public acceptance. The first case is the overall police reform initiative in Norway, which is aimed at centralizing police districts and improving police operational methods. The second case is the reform of police control of migration through the intertwined use of immigration law and criminal law. The findings suggest that in both areas street-level police culture is portrayed as an obstacle to improvement of police legitimacy. Increased organizational control is put forward as the solution, which enables not only a more manageable organization, but also provides opportunities for improved achievement and success on a range of new performance indicators. Moreover, expanding the ways in which success can be measured, then serve to strengthen state legitimacy and reassert national sovereignty in times of perceived crises.