Norwegians Convinced They Are Overrun by Crooks : Crime rate: Fear persists despite expert assurances that they lag far behind the United States and other nations.

Criminologists and other experts tell them otherwise, but many Norwegians are convinced that their country is overrun by thugs, hooligans and “the mob.”

The experts say the public concern verges on “national hysteria.” They argue that Norway still has one of the world’s lowest crime rates, and is nowhere near being in a league with the United States or other countries with serious crime problems.

“Our biggest crime problem is the unfounded anxiety people feel about it,” said Nils Christie, a University of Oslo criminology professor.

Muggings are rare and city parks generally are safe. Some cafeterias leave it up to the customers to leave what they owe in a till and even make their own change.

Few of Norway’s 4.2 million people have actually witnessed criminal violence, according to an informal poll by one newspaper.

Police, who usually are unarmed, used or threatened to use weapons just 28 times last year, according to Justice Ministry figures.

“Norway is at the bottom of the list of violent crimes per capita,” said Christie. The risk of being murdered in the United States is nine times greater than in Norway, according to a local study.

Sociologist Cecilie Hoigaard listed Norway’s murder rate in 1988 as 0.9 killings per 100,000 residents, compared to 1.4 in Sweden and 5.1 in France. The World Almanac said the U.S. figure was 8.3 the same year.

Yet crime in Norway has increased by about 15% a year since 1986, according to official figures, and that’s what has brought all the paranoia.

“We aren’t interested in comparing ourselves to other countries,” said Tor Aksel Busch, deputy director general of public prosecutions. “We must compare ourselves to the way things were. It is the increase that is disturbing.”

Crimes for monetary or material gain, such as theft and fraud, represent 81% of the offenses.

“There is simply much more to steal because Norway’s standard of living has increased enormously,” criminologist Christie said. Norway had an economic boom when it discovered oil off its coast.

From 1986 to 1988, drug arrests doubled and violent crime rose 29%, partly because alcohol is more accepted by “traditionally reserved and pious Norwegians,” Christie said.

“We Norwegians are very worried about crime,” said Kjell Solem of the Justice Ministry. “It is a frequent topic of debate. We started with very little and don’t like the increase,”

“Norway has an old-fashioned crime rate,” he added. “You have to go back 25 years to find such a low rate in Sweden. It is safe almost anywhere, any time in Norway.”

In December, robbers rammed a large truck into an armored car and escaped with about $1 million, leaving a trail of burning getaway cars. Norwegians could perhaps understand the greed but were appalled that the thieves were prepared to harm the security guards by ramming the armored car with the truck.

“People speak of moral decay, the fraying of society’s fabric,” Solem said.

Crime was a major issue in last autumn’s national election; everything from drugs and alcohol to video tapes and foreigners came in for the blame. The right-wing Party of Progress increased its standing in Parliament tenfold, partly on the basis of a law-and-order campaign.

“Crime has become a matter of national hysterics,” said sociologist Thomas Mathiesen. “There is a much greater fear of crime than there is any grounds for.”

Many Norwegians are responding by fortifying their homes. Lock sales soared 60% from 1987 to 1989 and burglar alarm sales are said to be on the rise.

Mathiesen said fear was being spread unwittingly by the news media, politicians and even police who seek larger budgets.

Tabloid newspapers routinely brand any group of criminals “the Mafia.” They devote sensational and lengthy coverage to murders and pursue the cases for weeks.

The respected Aftenposten newspaper, in a review of the 1980s, said more crime produced more crime reporting. In the 1970s, “trivial crimes were reported,” it wrote. “Now it’s hard to find space for all the corruption, theft and violence.”