The police raises the terrorism alert level

The police terrorism alert level has been raised from A to B, following the Court of Appeals ruling lifting the custodial sentence for men suspected of planning a terrorist attack.

It is a temporary decision and the state of preparedness will be assessed regularly, as stated in the notice of the Commissioner.

Article on Iceland Monitor

U-turn ruling in the Court of Appeals

The National Commissioner of the Icelandic Police’s Diagnostic Unit evaluates the threat level for terrorism. It is their opinion that the threat level in Iceland is at the third level. This means that the department assesses it as a greater threat because of the presence of intent and capability and potential planning of terrorist acts.

Increased alert

"Alert level A is a routine alert level under the 2015 National Police Chiefs" Preparedness Level Police procedure. A decision has been made to raise the alert level for police to alert level B, which includes an increased alert level for a security threat. The alert levels are five, from A to E.

Under the Preparedness Level B procedure, the Special Operations Command, the Metropolitan Police, the Counter-IED, the Counter-IED and the Police Communications Centre have increased the response capability in case of a disaster. This includes the simplification of various procedures, closer coordination, increased staffing and faster response capabilities.

New five threat  level alert scale

Changes have been made to the threat levels for terrorism, but the changes are not directly related to the above-mentioned preparedness. The change aims to coordinate the use of the threat level in Iceland with that of our neighbouring countries.

In Iceland, a four-point scale has been used so far, but as of December 13, 2022, a new five-point scale has been introduced, assessing the state of the matter according to the same criteria as in Denmark, Norway and Sweden.