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Denmark: PET takes control of fighting terrorism

01 January 2006

Last autumn a Working Group of high level officials from the Ministry of Justice presented a package of 49 proposals to step up the fight against terrorism. The changes will see some police functions transferred to the intelligence service. Critics have claimed that the move will weaken democratic control and undermine the citizen's civil liberties.

After months of preparation the Minister of Justice, Lene Espersen, revealed a set of legal amendments and administrative changes in police work in order to implement some of the 49 proposals.

One consequence is that 160 of the 280 employees at the National Investigation Center (NEC), which fights organised crime, will be transferred to the police intelligence services (Politiets Efterretningstjeneste, PET) in an administrative measure that does not require a change in the law.

Critics say that this move will blur the distinction between police work, investigating and solving serious organised crime, and the work of the intelligence service, which is tasked to prevent serious crime against the state. Furthermore, it will undermine attempts to ensure the democratic control of police work.

The proposals weaken public control of the police, said the chairman of the Lawyers Association, Sys Rovsing Koch. She continued: "It moves new and large areas from the police service...and the courts to the closed PET system." Another critic is the former head of PET, Ole Stig Andersen, who supports the Lawyers Association position.

The PET is directly under the control of the Minister of Justice and a small, closed committee under the national parliament. It is made up by a representative from the five largest parliamentary parties. It is feared that this transfer of powers will lead to a reduction in the possibilities of the defence to defend an accused in a court of law, because of the reduced transparency implicit in cases involving the intelligence service.