Coordinating Against Work-Related Crime in Norway

Abstract

This article studies inter-agency coordination in a “wicked” policy area by examining the Norwegian model against work-related crime. The main research questions are: How does the Norwegian government work to ensure coordination in the field of work-related crime? What enables and constrains horizontal and vertical coordination in this field? We find that the case represents a push towards joint intelligence efforts at the national level to create more analytical capacity and more effective use of punitive sanctions. By analysing data in the period from 2014 to 2019 we show that coordination has intensified over time, but that sector-based priorities, regulations and performance targets remain important obstacles for coordination. The article shows how a secondary organizational structure, ensuring a more coordinated, cross-sectoral strategy for combating work-related crime has been established at the national (strategic) and regional (tactical/operational) level. This supplements the primary organizational structure which is based on the more “traditional” division between ministerial areas and policy sectors and allows for both change and organizational stability. The result is a field that is more coordinated, but still complex and constrained by the existing sector-divisions, organizational and management structures.