The

Police The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest and t ...

of Denmark ( da, Politiet, fo, Løgreglan, kl, Politiit) is the

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish a ...

National Police force, and the interior part of the Danish security forces (the

Danish military Danish Defence ( da, Forsvaret, fo, Danska verjan, kl, Illersuisut) is the unified armed forces of the Kingdom of Denmark charged with the defence of Denmark and its constituent, self-governing nations Greenland and the Faroe Islands. The De ...

being the exterior) in the Kingdom ( The Danish Realm: Denmark (proper), Greenland, Faroe Islands). The police are empowered to enforce the law and to effect public and social order, as well as being responsible for

border control Border control refers to measures taken by governments to monitor and regulate the movement of people, animals, and goods across land, air, and maritime borders. While border control is typically associated with international borders, it a ...

Organization

The police of Denmark consists of 12 districts each managed by a director and two minor districts in

Greenland Greenland ( kl, Kalaallit Nunaat, ; da, Grønland, ) is an island country in North America that is part of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is located between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Greenland is t ...

and the

Faroe Islands The Faroe Islands ( ), or simply the Faroes ( fo, Føroyar ; da, Færøerne ), are a North Atlantic island group and an autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark. They are located north-northwest of Scotland, and about halfway bet ...

, run by a local chief of police. The district of

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 somewhat differently organized due to its size and tasks. Besides the regular districts other organizations exist that work outside the general police: *

Rigspolitiet The National Police of Denmark ( da, Rigspolitiet, fo, Landløgregla, kl, Naalagaaffiup Politiivi) is the upper most level of the Police of Denmark within the Kingdom (The unity of the Realm: Denmark (proper), Greenland, Faroe Islands). Admini ...

- a nationwide police force with specialized tasks such as ''Budgets and Accounts'', ''Building Surveying Department'' and the ''Data Investigating Department'' *

Politiets Efterretningstjeneste Politiets Efterretningstjeneste (PET) (literally: Police Intelligence Service, official name in English: Danish Security and Intelligence Service, or DSIS) is the national security and intelligence agency of Denmark. The agency focuses solely o ...

- the national security intelligence agency of Denmark *

Politiets Aktionsstyrke Politiets Aktionsstyrke (AKS, English: ''The Special Intervention Unit'') is the police tactical unit of the Danish National Police. It is meant to handle extraordinarily difficult or life-threatening criminal situations, such as terrorism, host ...

- the special forces unit of the Danish police * National enhed for Særlig Kriminalitet - national crime unit that investigates and prosecutes organized, economical and cyber crime.

Equipment

Uniform

The common uniform is a light blue shirt with the police insignia on the sleeve. Usually a tie is also worn. Rank-insignia is worn on the shoulders. The trousers are dark blue with reflective patches. Black shoes are also included in the standard uniform. Special tactical suits are made of flame-resistant materials and are worn in situations requiring such equipment. The tactical suit also includes a protective helmet.

Vehicles

For daily duties, the patrol-vehicles are white with yellow and green reflective stripes and dog-patrols are mostly dark blue with white stripes. They generally have 3 blue lights and a spotlight on the top. The word "POLITI" painted on the side in clear reflective paint. The most commonly used patrol vehicles are

Volvo V90 The Volvo V90 is a mid-size luxury wagon manufactured and marketed by Swedish automaker Volvo Cars since 2016. Two months after the introduction of the sedan model, the V90 was revealed at the Geneva Motor Show in March 2016. Its sedan variant ...

, which is the newest addition for dog patrols,

Volkswagen Passat The Volkswagen Passat is a series of D-segment, large family cars manufactured and marketed by the Germany, German automobile manufacturer Volkswagen since 1973, and now in its eighth generation. It has been marketed variously as the Dasher, Sa ...

, Mercedes-Benz C250 Estate and

Volkswagen Touran The Volkswagen Touran is a car manufactured by German automaker Volkswagen since 2003 and sold in Europe and other select markets. A compact multi-purpose vehicle (MPV), it fills a gap in Volkswagen's model lineup between the Volkswagen Golf, wi ...

, with 2.0 litre engines. Unmarked cars are usually fitted with engines with a size of around 1.6 to 2.2 litres. The unmarked cars is almost identical to the normal fleet.

, and a variety of different Mercedes-Benz models are used.

Toyota Landcruiser is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on . Toyota is one of the largest automobile manufacturers in the world, producing about 10 ...

and VW Touareg are used by the special Romeo unit (or referred to in Danish as ''Reaktionspatruljen'') The vehicles have black tinted and reinforced windows. Small detachments typically use VW Transporters, while Mercedes Sprinter and

Ford Transit The Ford Transit is a family of light commercial vehicles manufactured by the Ford Motor Company since 1965, primarily as a cargo van, but also available in other configurations including a large passenger van (marketed as the Ford Tourneo in ...

mini-buses are used in larger operations, which require a lot of manpower (demonstrations, football matches and larger civil unrests). In extreme events, a variation of the MB Vario is used. It is generally known as the ''Dutchman's vehicle'' (in Danish ''Hollændervogn''). This name derives from the fact that these vehicles are kitted out in the Netherlands as light APC's with reinforced windows, wheels and metal parts and fire-resistant coating. They are used both as light APCs in event of demonstrations or public disturbances, and as general transportation of large numbers of detainees. Other vehicles in use are the

Mercedes-Benz Vito The Mercedes-Benz Vito is a mid-sized light commercial vehicle (LCV) produced by Mercedes-Benz, available as a panel van, chassis cab, or multi-purpose vehicle (MPV), carrying cargo or up to eight passengers. In the Mercedes-Benz van lineup, it ...

(used by both Central Patrol Leaders, a kind of on-street watch commanders) and

Nissan Patrol The is a series of full-size SUVs manufactured by Nissan in Japan and sold throughout the world. The Patrol has been available as either a short-wheelbase (SWB) three-door or a long-wheelbase (LWB) five-door chassis since 1951. The LWB version ...

s used by the mounted police squads with a horse carrier attached. The traffic police also use unmarked vans for automatic traffic control. These are primarily VW Transporters, Mercedes Benz Vitos,

Toyota Hiace The (pronounced "High Ace") is a light commercial vehicle produced by the Japanese automobile manufacturer Toyota. First launched in October 1967, the HiAce has since been available in a wide range of body configurations, including a minivan/ ...

s, but others are used as well. Some rural police officers use civilian vehicles with a dismountable magnetic roof beacon. For traffic regulation and VIP and ambulance escorts

motorcycle A motorcycle (motorbike, bike, or trike (if three-wheeled)) is a two or three-wheeled motor vehicle steered by a handlebar. Motorcycle design varies greatly to suit a range of different purposes: long-distance travel, commuting, cruising ...

s are also used, primarily

Yamaha FJR1300 The Yamaha FJR1300A and FJR1300AE/AS are sport touring motorcycles made by Yamaha Motor Company. Both models have a 1,298 cc inline-four engine. The AE/AS model has an electronically controlled clutch and gear shifting system called YCC-S. Th ...

Honda ST1300 The Honda ST series, also known as the ''Pan-European'' in Europe, is a duo of Sport Touring motorcycles comprising the ST1100 and the later ST1300. Following the launch of the Gold Wing, which was very successful in the US, Honda's marketing tea ...

BMW K1200R The BMW K1200R is a naked supersport motorcycle manufactured between 2005 and 2008 by BMW Motorrad, producing a claimed @ 10,250 rpm from its transverse-mounted 1,157 cc inline-four engine with torque of @ 8,250 rpm. Acceleration ...

S and BMW K1200GT (over time replacing older BMW K1100LT and

BMW R1100RT The BMW R1100RT is a BMW touring motorcycle with a horizontally-opposed twin-cylinder boxer engine. It was built from 1996 to 2001 in the BMW Berlin plant in Spandau, together with several sister models of similar design, including the R1100R, ...

Weapons

The standard service handgun is the H&K USP Compact 9mm

pistol A pistol is a handgun, more specifically one with the chamber integral to its gun barrel, though in common usage the two terms are often used interchangeably. The English word was introduced in , when early handguns were produced in Europe, an ...

. For special tasks the

H&K MP5 The Heckler & Koch MP5 (german: Maschinenpistole 5) is a 9x19mm Parabellum submachine gun, developed in the 1960s by a team of engineers from the German small arms manufacturer Heckler & Koch. There are over 100 variants and clones of the MP5 ...

sub-machine gun is used. Officers are also equipped with batons and pepper spray cans.

Law about police enforcement

The operation of

police The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest and t ...

is regulated in the ''Act on Police Enforcement'' (da: ''Lov om politiets virksomhed''), commonly known as ''The Police Act'' (da: ''politiloven'') of 20 August 2015. Its first section states that: "The police must work to ensure security, safety, peace and order in society. The police must promote this purpose through prevention, assistance and enforcement." The second section states that other areas of police jurisdiction include: # preventing criminal actions, disturbances of the public peace and order and danger to individual citizens and public safety # stopping criminal actions and investigating and prosecuting criminal actions # supporting citizens in dangerous situations # carrying out checking and inspecting under current rules and regulations # supporting other agencies under current rules and regulations # performing other tasks under current rules and regulations, as well as handling other tasks which are naturally associated with police duties. Lastly, the third section states: "The police may in other situations than those mentioned in statutory law only interfere with citizens under this Act."Though this may seem obvious, it is a precaution that clearly states that the police may under no circumstances act towards the citizens in ways not stated by law (da: ''hjemlet''). This ensures that the police cannot make their own interpretations of laws or regulations.

Ranks and insignia

In Denmark, the local prosecution service is part of the police. Since 2014, only Chief Prosecutors wear uniforms; other prosecutors, such as senior prosecutors, prosecutors, associate prosecutors, and advocates, do not.

Military police

The military police (MP) in Denmark are police units within the armed forces branches. The Danish MP are a joint unit, consisting of members from each branch of the danish defense forces. MP personnel typically wear either specific display dress uniforms with white MP shoulder markings or the branch-common daily battle dress uniforms with a red

beret A beret ( or ; ; eu, txapela, ) is a soft, round, flat-crowned cap, usually of woven, hand-knitted wool, crocheted cotton, wool felt, or acrylic fibre. Mass production of berets began in 19th century France and Spain, and the beret remains ...

. MP personnel generally do not have any legal jurisdiction over civilians in non-military locations, but only over military personnel and over everyone on military installations (also publicly accessible places such as the

Holmen Naval Base Naval Station Holmen ( da, Flådestation Holmen) is one of several naval stations of the Royal Danish Navy, supplementing the two Danish naval bases in Frederikshavn and Korsør. Founded in the late 17th century, it is also a visitor attracti ...

), in the buildings housing the Ministry of Defence, royal palaces (like

Amalienborg Palace Amalienborg () is the official residence for the Danish royal family, and is located in Copenhagen, Denmark. Queen Magrethe ll lives here in winter and autumn. It consists of four identical classical palace façades with rococo interiors arou ...

) and parts of

Christiansborg Palace Christiansborg Palace ( da, Christiansborg Slot; ) is a palace and government building on the islet of Slotsholmen in central Copenhagen, Denmark. It is the seat of the Danish Parliament ('), the Danish Prime Minister's Office, and the Supreme ...

. On some occasions, MP personnel can provide support to the civilian police for certain tasks, but will only have slightly more legal authority than civilians, similar to the police home guard.

Police Home Guard

The Danish police can call upon assistance from a section of the

Danish home guard The Danish Home Guard ( da, Hjemmeværnet) (HJV) is the fourth service of the Danish military. It was formerly concerned only with the defence of Danish territory, but since 2008, it has also supported the Danish military efforts in Afghanistan ...

: Politihjemmeværnet the ''police home guard''. The police home guard consists of 47 companies, each led by professional police officers. The volunteers are mainly used for traffic control at

festival A festival is an event ordinarily celebrated by a community and centering on some characteristic aspect or aspects of that community and its religion or cultures. It is often marked as a local or national holiday, mela, or eid. A festival c ...

s, searches for victims and guarding community installations and are never used in tasks involving direct confrontation with civilians (

riot control Riot control measures are used by law enforcement, military, paramilitary or security forces to control, disperse, and arrest people who are involved in a riot, unlawful demonstration or unlawful protest. If a riot is spontaneous and irration ...

or planned

arrest An arrest is the act of apprehending and taking a person into custody (legal protection or control), usually because the person has been suspected of or observed committing a crime. After being taken into custody, the person can be questi ...

s). These companies are part of the Army Home Guard. They wear branch-common daily battle dress uniforms, green berets and bright yellow vests with the text "POLITI HJEMMEVÆRNET" (POLICE HOME GUARD). Members of the police home guard have slightly more legal authority than regular citizens when the service they provide calls for it, but they are always under the supervision of the civilian police.

Notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Police Of Denmark