"Oslo police want Norway to toughen its policies towards lawbreaking foreigners.

"We want to get those who commit criminal acts out as quickly as possible," deputy Oslo police commissioner Hans Halvorsen told newspaper Dagsavisen.

The Directorate of Immigration (UDI) is in the process of developing new guidelines for the expulsion of criminals who come to Norway from the European Economic Area (EEA) nations.

The UDI stance is that foreigners should only be deportable from Norway if they receive prison sentences. The Oslo police believe a greater emphasis should be put on protecting the public from crimes of profit, and that expulsion should be based on the crime rather than the punishment.

Police argue that they need to be able to react quickly to crimes like purse snatching, shoplifting and other types of organized theft.

Last year police expelled 3,000 foreigners, about half of these after they had committed crimes. " (Courtesy of Aftenposten.no)