Crime in Denmark is combated by the

Danish Police The Police of Denmark ( da, Politiet, fo, Løgreglan, kl, Politiit) is the Danish National Police force, and the interior part of the Danish security forces (the Danish military being the exterior) in the Kingdom ( The Danish Realm: Denma ...

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 which ranks countries "by their perceived levels of public sector corruption, as determined by expert assessments and opinion surveys." The CPI generally defines corruption as an "abuse of entru ...

2012 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 ...

, Denmark, together with Finland and New Zealand, 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 scientific and artistic heritage. The astronomical discoveries of Tycho Brahe (1546–1601), Ludwig A. Colding's (1815–1888) neglected articulation of the principle of conservation of energy, and the foundatio ...

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

Organised crime

The

National Police National Police may refer to the national police forces of several countries: *Afghanistan: Afghan National Police *Haiti: Haitian National Police *Colombia: National Police of Colombia *Cuba: Cuban National Police *East Timor: National Police of ...

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

Bandidos The Bandidos Motorcycle Club, also known as the Bandido Nation, is an outlaw motorcycle club with a worldwide membership. Formed in San Leon, Texas in 1966, the Bandidos MC is estimated to have between 2,000 and 2,500 members and 303 chapters, l ...

, Gremium,

Hells Angels The Hells Angels Motorcycle Club (HAMC) is a worldwide outlaw motorcycle club whose members typically ride Harley-Davidson motorcycles. In the United States and Canada, the Hells Angels are incorporated as the Hells Angels Motorcycle Corporatio ...

No Surrender No Surrender may refer to: Politics * "No Surrender!", a British Unionist slogan originating from Siege of Derry now used in Northern Ireland, Scotland, and England *No Surrender (to the IRA), a political chant since used by England football fans ...

and

Satudarah MC is a one-percenter outlaw motorcycle club that has spread the globe since being founded in the Netherlands town of Moordrecht in 1990. It differs from most other outlaw motorcycle clubs in the fact that it welcomes all races into its club, ...

– and street gangs – including

AK81 AK81 is a street gang in Denmark. It is a support gang (called puppet clubs by law enforcement) of the Hells Angels, but members are not required to own a motorcycle or wear a patch. Because of this, and due to high-running racial tensions, they ...

, Black Army, Black Cobra,

Black Jackets The Black Jackets is a primarily Turkish people, ethnically Turkish criminal gang active in Germany, the Netherlands and Denmark. The Black Jackets were originally formed in 1985 in Heidenheim an der Brenz of immigrants from different countries, ...

, 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 Sø ...

(LTF), United Tribuns and

X-Team X-Team is a gang associated with the Bandidos Motorcycle Club. Members are not required to own a motorcycle, and the group is essentially a street gang recruiting young criminals to provide reinforcements for the club. X-Team members carry out cri ...

– 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 ( sq, Mafia Shqiptare) are the general terms used for criminal organizations based in Albania or composed of ethnic Albanians. Albanian organized crime is active in Europe, North America, South America ...

and

Serbian mafia Serbian organized crime or Serbian mafia ( sr, Cpпска мафија / Srpska mafija) are various criminal organizations based in Serbia or composed of ethnic Serbs in the former Yugoslavia and Serbian diaspora. The organizations are primari ...

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

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

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, 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 Nørreport station ...

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''; lit. 'the North') are a geographical and cultural region in Northern Europe and the North Atlantic. It includes the sovereign states of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Swed ...

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 ( da, Jylland ; german: Jütland ; ang, Ēota land ), known anciently as the Cimbric or Cimbrian Peninsula ( la, Cimbricus Chersonesus; da, den Kimbriske Halvø, links=no or ; german: Kimbrische Halbinsel, links=no), is a peninsula of ...

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 and

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

By location

Glostrup Glostrup is a Danish town in Region Hovedstaden, forming one of the western suburbs of Copenhagen. It is the administrative seat of Glostrup Municipality, with an estimated population of 22,357 . During the 20th century Glostrup developed from ...

, 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 Ertholmene (formerly spelled ''Ærtholmene)'' is a small archipelago in Denmark. The largest island is Christiansø, and its name often refers to the entire archipelago. Ertholmene is situated northeast of Gudhjem, Bornholm, and contains De ...

, a tiny island north east of

Bornholm Bornholm () is a 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. It has usually been ruled by ...

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 The Danish Penal Code, also known as the Danish Criminal Code ( da, Straffeloven),Retsinformation.dStraffeloven./ref> is the codification of and the foundation of criminal law in Denmark. The updated official full text covers 29 chapters and is al ...

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 ( , ) is an area comprising 27 European countries that have officially abolished all passport and all other types of border control at their mutual borders. Being an element within the wider area of freedom, security and ...

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