"We want to have a police force that can handle the most demanding assignments with the least amount of force"

At The Agitator, Reason Contributing Editor Radley Balko flags a remarkable story from Norway:

Many foreign journalists covering the July terrorist attacks in Norway were surprised to learn that Norwegian police are generally unarmed. A new survey indicates they want to stay that way.

"We want to have a police force that can handle the most demanding assignments with the least amount of force," Arne Johannessen, head of the police officers' union Politiets Fellesforbund, told Norwegian Broadcasting (NRK) this week.

A survey of the union's own members showed that fully 60 percent of the police officers questioned said they do not want to be armed at all times. At present, they only arm themselves after receiving authorization in dangerous situations.

As Balko observes, "It's pretty rare to see government officials not only not use a crisis to grab more power, but to actually refute suggestions that they should."