| Danish Police Politiet | |
|---|---|
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| Common name | Politiet (the police) |
| Agency overview | |
| Formed | 1919 |
| Jurisdictional structure | |
| National agency | Kingdom of Denmark |
| Operations jurisdiction | Kingdom of Denmark |
| Governing body | Rigspolitiet |
| General nature | |
| Operational structure | |
| Headquarters | Copenhagen Police Headquarters |
| Police Officers | 11.360[1] |
| Civilian Employees | 5.423[1] |
| Website | |
| www.politi.dk | |
ThePolice of Denmark (Danish:Politiet,Faroese:Løgreglan,Greenlandic:Politiit) is theDanish National Police force, and the interior part of the Danish security forces (theDanish military 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 forborder control.[2]
The police of Denmark consists of 12 districts each managed by a director and two minor districts inGreenland and theFaroe Islands, run by a local chief of police.The district ofCopenhagen is somewhat differently organized due to its size and tasks.[citation needed]
Besides the regular districts other organizations exist that work outside the general police:
Historically Danish police wore a red uniform until 1863, when it was replaced by dark blue with a crested helmet.[3]
The modern 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.[citation needed]
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 areVolvo V90, which is the newest addition for dog patrols,Volkswagen Passat,Mercedes-Benz GLB andVolkswagen Touran, 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. Volkswagen Passat, Volkswagen Touran, and a variety of different Mercedes-Benz models are used.Toyota Landcruiser and VW Touareg are used by the special Romeo unit (or referred to in Danish asReaktionspatruljen) The vehicles have black tinted and reinforced windows. Small detachments typically useVW Transporters, whileMercedes Sprinter andFord Transit 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 theMB Vario is used. It is generally known as theDutchman's vehicle (in DanishHollændervogn). This name derives from the fact that these vehicles are kitted out in the Netherlands aslight APC's with reinforced windows, wheels and metal parts andfire-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.[citation needed] Other vehicles in use are theMercedes-Benz Vito (used by both Central Patrol Leaders, a kind of on-street watch commanders) andNissan Patrols used by the mounted police squads with a horse carrier attached.[citation needed]
The traffic police also use unmarked vans for automatic traffic control. These are primarily VW Transporters, Mercedes Benz Vitos,Toyota Hiaces, but others are used as well.[4]
Some rural police officers use civilian vehicles with a dismountable magnetic roof beacon.[citation needed]
For traffic regulation and VIP and ambulance escortsmotorcycles are also used, primarilyYamaha FJR1300A,Honda ST1300a,[5] andDucati Multistrada V4S.
The standard service handgun is theH&K USP Compact 9mmpistol. For special tasks theH&K MP5sub-machine gun is used. Officers are also equipped with batons and pepper spray cans.[6]
In November 2023, it was announced that the Danish Police had adopted theSIG Sauer P320 chambered in 9x19mm, to replace the H&K USP Compact 9mm pistols currently in service.[1]
 | This article needs to beupdated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(December 2023) |
The operation ofDanishpolice is regulated in theAct on Police Enforcement (da:Lov om politiets virksomhed), commonly known asThe Police Act (da:politiloven) of 20 August 2015.[7]
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:
Lastly, the third section states:"The police may in other situations than those mentioned in statutory law only interfere with citizens under this Act."[note 1]
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.
| Rank | Rank titles[8] | Rank insignia[8] | Personnel category | Commonwealth equivalent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Rigspolitichef |  | Senior manager | Commissioner |
| 2. | Politidirektør Direktionsmedlem i Rigspolitiet Politimester iPET Politimester i Grønland Politimester på Færøerne |  | Senior manager | Deputy Commissioner |
| 3. | Stabschef Afdelingschef i Rigs- politiet |  | Senior manager | Assistant Commissioner |
| Chefanklager | Lawyer | Chief Crown Prosecutor | ||
| Chefpolitiinspektør | Police | Chief Superintendent | ||
| 4. | Vicepolitimester i Grønland Vicepolitimester på Færøerne Vicepolitimester i Rigspolitiet Politiinspektør |  | Police | Superintendent |
| 5. | Vicepolitiinspektør |  | Police | Assistant Superintenddent |
| 6. | Politikommissær |  | Police | Inspector |
| 7. | Politiassistent |  | Police | Sergeant |
| 8. | Politiassistent |  | Police | Senior Constable |
| 9. | Politibetjent |  | Police | Police Constable |
| 10. | Politikadet |  | Police | Student Constable |
Themilitary 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 dailybattle dress uniforms with a redberet.
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 theHolmen Naval Base inCopenhagen), in the buildings housingthe Ministry of Defence, royal palaces (likeAmalienborg Palace) and parts ofChristiansborg Palace. 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.
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The Danish police can call upon assistance from a section of theDanish home guard:Politihjemmeværnet thepolice home guard. The police home guard consists of 47 companies, each led by professional police officers.[citation needed]
The volunteers are mainly used for traffic control atfestivals,searches for victims and guarding community installations and are never used in tasks involving direct confrontation with civilians (riot control or plannedarrests). These companies are part of the Army Home Guard.[9]
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.
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