Denmark cracks down on gang crime with extensive new agreement
A majority in the Danish parliament has backed a new set of measures aimed at cracking down on gang crime.
Elements of the new anti-gang measures include raised punishments for assault and knife-related crimes, and broader provisions for private businesses to install surveillance.
It also provides for double punishments for economic crime related to gang activity, such as money laundering.
‘Humiliation’ crime, such as filming somebody being assaulted, will also be punished more harshly under the new laws agreed by the government.
Some social initiatives are also included in the plan, such as part-time jobs for children and young people to give them other ways of earning money in their free time. Recent reports found a significant incidence of children running errands for gang members.
READ ALSO: Denmark’s gangs ’get 10-year-olds to help’ with errands and transport
“This is a situation which we at Christiansborg [parliament] take very seriously. Many new measures are needed,” Justice Minister Hummelgaard said at a briefing.
“We’ve agreed on a pretty bouquet of measures that have more focus on prevention and we also plan to increase punishments. We are planning a marked increase in the punishment for knife possession,” he said.
Police will be allowed to use undercover agents in a wider range of circumstances, while an exit programme for gang members wishing to reform will receive further investment.
Persons convicted of transnational crimes can be issued with travel bans under the extensive set of measures.
The anti- gang crime measures come after an earlier proposal on the area by the government, presented in September, secured backing from a majority of parties, ensuring its passage through parliament.
That came in response to a flare-up in gang related crime, primarily in the Greater Copenhagen region, Hummelgaard said.
The proposed law changes would allow businesses to install surveillance ranging up to 100 metres instead of the current 30 metres.
“We’ve seen that surveillance is a useful and important tool for both investigating and preventing crimes,” Hummelgaard said.
The sector organisation for bars and restaurants, Horesta, has spoken to its members who are generally positive about the extra surveillance, broadcaster DR writes.
The director of the legal thinktank Justitia, Birgitte Arent Eriksson, said she agreed about the use of surveillance for investigation of crimes but that it is not proven to be preventative.
High levels of surveillance can meanwhile encroach on privacy, she said.
“If we imagine all private businesses who are allowed to do this, do it, then we’ll have a lot of surveillance in Denmark,” she said to DR.
Not all parliamentary parties that are part of the agreement support harsher punishments, The Socialist People’s Party (SF) said it had agreed to the deal because it favours the preventative elements, but does not back harsher punishments.
“We have said it is unwise to make all these punishments harsher when there’s no space in the corrective system. The government and the other parties must take responsibility for this. We’ve warned against it,” SF justice spokesperson Karina Lorentzen said.
Lorentzen also noted that the Ministry of Justice had agreed to consider alternative forms of sentencing to ease strain on prisons.
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Elements of the new anti-gang measures include raised punishments for assault and knife-related crimes, and broader provisions for private businesses to install surveillance.
It also provides for double punishments for economic crime related to gang activity, such as money laundering.
‘Humiliation’ crime, such as filming somebody being assaulted, will also be punished more harshly under the new laws agreed by the government.
Some social initiatives are also included in the plan, such as part-time jobs for children and young people to give them other ways of earning money in their free time. Recent reports found a significant incidence of children running errands for gang members.
READ ALSO: Denmark’s gangs ’get 10-year-olds to help’ with errands and transport
“This is a situation which we at Christiansborg [parliament] take very seriously. Many new measures are needed,” Justice Minister Hummelgaard said at a briefing.
“We’ve agreed on a pretty bouquet of measures that have more focus on prevention and we also plan to increase punishments. We are planning a marked increase in the punishment for knife possession,” he said.
Police will be allowed to use undercover agents in a wider range of circumstances, while an exit programme for gang members wishing to reform will receive further investment.
Persons convicted of transnational crimes can be issued with travel bans under the extensive set of measures.
The anti- gang crime measures come after an earlier proposal on the area by the government, presented in September, secured backing from a majority of parties, ensuring its passage through parliament.
That came in response to a flare-up in gang related crime, primarily in the Greater Copenhagen region, Hummelgaard said.
The proposed law changes would allow businesses to install surveillance ranging up to 100 metres instead of the current 30 metres.
“We’ve seen that surveillance is a useful and important tool for both investigating and preventing crimes,” Hummelgaard said.
The sector organisation for bars and restaurants, Horesta, has spoken to its members who are generally positive about the extra surveillance, broadcaster DR writes.
The director of the legal thinktank Justitia, Birgitte Arent Eriksson, said she agreed about the use of surveillance for investigation of crimes but that it is not proven to be preventative.
High levels of surveillance can meanwhile encroach on privacy, she said.
“If we imagine all private businesses who are allowed to do this, do it, then we’ll have a lot of surveillance in Denmark,” she said to DR.
Not all parliamentary parties that are part of the agreement support harsher punishments, The Socialist People’s Party (SF) said it had agreed to the deal because it favours the preventative elements, but does not back harsher punishments.
“We have said it is unwise to make all these punishments harsher when there’s no space in the corrective system. The government and the other parties must take responsibility for this. We’ve warned against it,” SF justice spokesperson Karina Lorentzen said.
Lorentzen also noted that the Ministry of Justice had agreed to consider alternative forms of sentencing to ease strain on prisons.
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