The role of the police is to protect public security and ensure legal security; to prevent crime and work on detection of violations; to facilitate the streets of citizens and to assist the authorities in the execution of their tasks and the maintenance of public peace and public order.

The police shall in their work honor the international obligations that Iceland has entered into.

Police statistics - Dashboard

There are 9 police departments in Iceland, each with a chief of police in charge of its own department. The National Commissioner of the Icelandic Police handles police affairs under the authority of the Minister, in accordance with the provisions of the Police Act and this Regulation. The National Commissioner of Police is responsible for the coordination and coordination of police work and for providing certain central services to the police services. The most senior police officer in Iceland is the Minister of Justice. This means that the Minister exercises general administrative and supervisory powers with respect to the police on the basis of the Act on the Government Offices of Iceland, the Police Act and the Criminal Procedure Act, but does not interfere in individual police operations or investigations of individual criminal cases.

The 9 police departments are the Capital Region Police, the Suðurnes Police, the Westman Islands Police, the South Iceland Police, the East Iceland Police, the North Iceland Police, the North West Iceland Police, the West Iceland Police and the West Iceland Police.

The NCIP handles international cooperation and cooperation in the fields of law enforcement and security, such as in the Nordic countries, Europol and the Interpol organisation. The National Commissioner of Police is the liaison between police and security services with other states.

The National Commissioner of Police is the service and liaison office for Icelandic and foreign police agencies in connection with international police and border cooperation. The NCIP Office operates the Schengen Information Systems as further provided for in the relevant regulations, has a SIRENE Office for Schengen Cooperation and is the National Agency of Iceland for Interpol, Europol and the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex).

The NCIP is in charge of matters concerning state security in connection with events, cases or situations that may endanger the security of the constitutional order, government agencies and the general public. The above applies to the President of Iceland, Althingi, the Government, the Ministry of Justice, the Courts of Justice, the Directorate of Public Prosecutions and other important public entities that are considered part of the country's infrastructure. The NCIP is responsible for security concerning official visits and visits by foreign emissaries.

The NCIP is responsible for the organisation of police security in the context of the European Council of 16 and 17 May 2023.

National Commissioner of Police
rls@rls.is 

Police stations are open from 8:15-16.

The emergency telephone number of police and other first responders in Iceland is 112.