Preventing prosecution: Narratives on proactive policing.

This article examines how proactive policing strategies, specifically multi-agency partnerships and intelligence-led policing (ILP), are understood and operationalized in Norway to prevent work-related crime (WRC) outside the traditional criminal justice process. It contrasts two main policing models: the police–business liaison, which fosters preventive partnerships with bona fide businesses through advisory, non-coercive means, and the organised crime (OC) policing concept, which employs disruptive, intelligence-driven interventions targeting suspect or criminal enterprises. Both models share a preventive aim to reduce prosecution by managing risk differently—liaisons emphasize collaboration and responsibility among legitimate businesses, while OC policing focuses on containment and disruption of offenders. The study highlights how police narratives classify businesses as either community resources or threats, shaping the choice and justification of preventive methods within the broader scope of police power as a flexible mode of governance.