Filed on July 25, 2016 | Last updated on July 25, 2016 at 04.23 pm

Officer Arne Stavnes was pictured in the pages of the Verdens Gang newspaper at the helm of his police boat during a patrol of Utoya island, 38 kilometres (24 miles) away from Oslo.

No one is above the law in Norway, it would seem, after a policeman fined himself for failing to wear a life jacket.

Officer Arne Stavnes was pictured in the pages of the Verdens Gang newspaper at the helm of his police boat during a patrol of Utoya island, 38 kilometres (24 miles) away from Oslo.

The photo prompted several witty comments from readers who noted that the skipper was flouting the law by not wearing his police-issue lifesaver - compulsory in Norway on vessels less than eight metres long.

The honest policeman moved to stay one step ahead of the criticism and published a photo of his self-issued 500 Norwegian kroner ($58, 53 euros) penalty.

According to a 2015 survey, 80 per cent of Norwegians were found to have confidence in their police service.