The law was introduced last autumn and gives the police the opportunity to intercept in a preventive manner, without an investigation into a already committed crime having been initiated.
From October 1, 2023, when the law was introduced, to December 31 of the same year, the court decided on a total of 106 permits for preventive interception, according to a letter from the government. The permits concerned a total of 67 individuals and in most cases involved interception due to violent crimes, drug offenses, or smuggling.
For example, the police may have received intelligence that a serious violent crime is about to be committed. By using preventive coercive measures, individuals have been apprehended with weapons, drugs, and cash.
Of the 67 individuals, 47 were monitored through secret phone tapping, 12 individuals through secret data retrieval (where the police gain access to, for example, a mobile phone to obtain information), 6 individuals through surveillance of electronic communication (information about, for example, which mobile phones were present at a crime scene), and 2 individuals through secret camera surveillance.
