Organisational Learning Within the Police: A Case Study of the Evaluation and Implementation of Improvements After Terror-Related Incidents in Norway

This study examines how police officers in the Norwegian police experience the process of organisational learning after terror-related incidents. The empirical data was collected through in-depth interviews with 14 police officers involved in the response to three recent terror-related incidents, and the learning activities following these incidents. The findings indicate that there is room for improvement in how the police organisation both evaluates terror-related incidents and implements suggested improvements. Evaluations are found not to be holistic evaluations of the whole responses, leaving parts of the police’s performance not formally evaluated. For evaluations to contribute to learning, the findings show the need for a learning culture and the avoidance of the negative stress associated with evaluations. The implementation of suggested improvements after evaluations is found to be demanding, and the involvement of police officers in the implementation process is insufficient. To improve implementation, the findings show the importance of involvement and communication in helping to create a shared understanding of suggested improvements. The lack of a systematic approach and time dedicated to learning from experiences, including time for training and exercises, is found to be a main challenge for organisational learning.