Crime in

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

is combated by the

Danish Police The Police of Denmark (, , ) is the Denmark, Danish National Police force, and the interior part of the Danish security forces (the Danish Defence, Danish military being the exterior) in the Kingdom (The Danish Realm: Denmark (proper), Green ...

and other agencies.

By type

Murder

In 2018, Denmark had a murder rate of 0.8 per 100,000 population. There were a total of 54 murders in Denmark in 2017.

Corruption

According to the

Corruption Perceptions Index The Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) is an index that scores and ranks countries by their perceived levels of public sector corruption, as assessed by experts and business executives. The CPI generally defines corruption as an "abuse of entr ...

2024 from

Transparency International Transparency International e.V. (TI) is a German registered association founded in 1993 by former employees of the World Bank. Based in Berlin, its nonprofit and non-governmental purpose is to take action to combat global corruption with civil s ...

, Denmark, together with Finland and Singapore, is one of the world's most transparent countries. Transparency International's Global Corruption Barometer 2013 shows that the public does not consider corruption a major problem in

Danish society The culture of Denmark has a rich artistic and scientific heritage. The fairy tales of Hans Christian Andersen (1805–1875), the philosophical essays of Søren Kierkegaard (1813–1855), the short stories of Karen Blixen, penname Isak Dinesen, ...

, and bribes paid to access public benefits and services are virtually non-existent.

Organised crime

The National Police has identified ninety-six criminal organisations operating in Denmark. Motorcycle gangs – such as the

Bandidos Bandidos may refer to: * Bandidos (film), ''Bandidos'' (film), a 1967 Italian spaghetti western film * Bandidos Films, a Mexican film production house * Bandidos (TV series), ''Bandidos'' (TV series), a 2024 Mexican TV series See also

* Ba ...

, Gremium,

Hells Angels The Hells Angels Motorcycle Club (HAMC) is an international outlaw motorcycle club founded in California whose members typically ride Harley-Davidson motorcycles. In the United States and Canada, the Hells Angels are incorporated as the Hells ...

, No Surrender and

Satudarah Satudarah MC is a one-percenter outlaw motorcycle club that was founded in 1990 in the Dutch town of Moordrecht. It was banned in the Netherlands on 18 June 2018, Members of the motorcycle club have frequently been tied to cases of violent crime, ...

– and street gangs – including AK81, Black Army, Black Cobra, Black Jackets, Bloodz, Brothas,

Loyal to Familia Loyal to Familia is a Danish street gang. Origins Loyal to Familia was established in Nørrebro in Copenhagen, Denmark in 2013. In the summer of 2017, the gang had a membership of 225. Prohibition In August 2017, the Minister of Justice Sør ...

(LTF), United Tribuns and X-Team – are involved in drug sales, extortion, economic crimes (fraud and tax evasion), robbery, and weapons trafficking. Many street gangs have memberships based on a common ethnic or regional origin. The total gang membership in Denmark is approximately 1,400. Additionally, the

Albanian mafia Albanian mafia or Albanian organized crime () are the general terms used for criminal organizations based in Albania or composed of ethnic Albanians. Albanian organized crime is active mostly in Europe and South America, but also in various other ...

and

Serbian mafia The Serbian mafia (), or Serbian organized crime, are various criminal organizations based in Serbia or composed of ethnic Serbs in the former Yugoslavia and Serbian diaspora. The organizations are primarily involved in smuggling, arms traffick ...

have a powerful presence in the country, and dominate the trafficking of heroin, weapons and humans. Rising gang violence in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

is a dominant theme for public discussion in the media and among political leaders. A gang war in the

Nørrebro Nørrebro (, ) is one of the 10 official districts of Copenhagen Municipality, Denmark. It is northwest of the city centre, beyond the location of the old Northern Gate (''Nørreport''), which, until dismantled in 1856, was near the current N ...

district of Copenhagen in 2017 culminated in multiple shooting incidents, which resulted in three deaths. From June 2017 through January 2018, police recorded forty-two shootings and four knife attacks, and arrested thirty-six people in connection with these crimes. In 2019, there were thirteen explosions that occurred in the Copenhagen area, all attributed to criminal gang violence. This was in addition to the rising number of gang-related incidents involving firearms and knife attacks over the past several years. As the only country in the

Nordic region The Nordic countries (also known as the Nordics or ''Norden''; ) are a geographical and cultural region in Northern Europe, as well as the Arctic and North Atlantic oceans. It includes the sovereign states of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway ...

with a land border with Western Europe, Denmark is an important transshipment point for narcotics. Law enforcement observes the trafficking of hashish via the large volume of legitimate trucking through Denmark from the Netherlands, Germany, and Spain. Authorities also routinely seize amphetamines, cocaine, and heroin at the ferry crossings from Germany, and during random checks on the bridges from

Jutland Jutland (; , ''Jyske Halvø'' or ''Cimbriske Halvø''; , ''Kimbrische Halbinsel'' or ''Jütische Halbinsel'') is a peninsula of Northern Europe that forms the continental portion of Denmark and part of northern Germany (Schleswig-Holstein). It ...

or Sweden. A majority of the heroin destined for Sweden and Norway transits Denmark. Around half of the heroin entering the country is controlled by the

Pakistani mafia Pakistanis (, ) are the citizens and nationals of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Pakistan is the fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the second-largest Muslim population as of 2023. As much as ...

and

Turkish mafia Turkish mafia () is the general term for criminal organizations based in Turkey and/or composed of current or former Turkish citizens. Crime groups with origins in Turkey are active throughout Western Europe (where a strong Turkish immigrant comm ...

By location

Glostrup Glostrup is a Denmark, Danish town in Capital Region of Denmark, Region Hovedstaden, forming one of the Western suburbs (Copenhagen), western suburbs of Copenhagen. It is the administrative seat of Glostrup Municipality, with an estimated populati ...

, a blue-collar suburb in

ranked as the most violent place in Denmark in 2009.Copenhagen suburb tops crime stats
. Cphpost.dk (2009-09-04). Retrieved on 2011-06-12. The place with the fewest instances of reported violence was Christiansø, a tiny island north east of

Bornholm Bornholm () is a List of islands of Denmark, Danish island in the Baltic Sea, to the east of the rest of Denmark, south of Sweden, northeast of Germany and north of Poland. Strategically located, Bornholm has been fought over for centuries. I ...

Copenhagen

Crime statistics for

in 2011 revealed a 26 percent drop in arrests for violent threats and attacks and a 22 percent drop in drug-related arrests since 2009.Good news, bad news in crime statistics
Cphpost.dk (2011-05-27). Retrieved on 2011-06-12. Crime statistics revealed a 24 percent rise in reported break-ins and home robberies in the city since 2009.

By ethnicity

At 4%, male migrants aged 15-64 with non-Western backgrounds had twice the conviction rate against the Danish Penal Code in 2018, compared to 2% for native born Danish men. In a given year, about 13% of all male descendants of non-Western migrants aged 17-24 are convicted against the penal code.

Resumption of border checks

On 4 January 2016, Denmark temporarily resumed checks along its borders with Germany and Sweden, previously open under the EU's

Schengen zone The Schengen Area ( , ) encompasses European countries that have officially abolished border controls at their common borders. As an element within the wider area of freedom, security and justice (AFSJ) policy of the European Union (EU), it ...

agreement.Alexander, Harriet. (2011-05-15

''DR''. Retrieved on 2016-01-04.Miller, John W.. (2011-05-12
Denmark to Tighten Border Controls – WSJ.com
Online.wsj.com. Retrieved on 2011-06-12. The Danish government says the resumption of border checks is needed to help prevent cross-border crime, illegal immigration and drug trafficking.

References

{{Crime in Europe