Nyborg residents: We’d rather have bikers than refugees

Residents raise questions after police focus their efforts on closing a Hell’s Angels clubhouse

Some citizens of Nyborg on Funen think that local police are fighting the wrong battle by putting pressure on bikers who recently opened a new Hell’s Angels clubhouse in the city.

They believe the gangs cause fewer problems than the refugees recently moved to their town, and they think that police should spend more time focusing on them.

“Bikers don’t commit as much crime as is believed,” Nyborg resident Tom Larsen told TV2/Fyn. “They help keep track of things in Denmark and should have a little bit more breathing room.”

Harley-riding crime fighters
Larsen said that immigrants commit more crimes than bikers, and that having bikers in the neighbourhood actually helps keep them crime-free.

“If you have some bikers as neighbours, things are much quieter,” said Larsen. “There is not as much urban crime once they get a bit of power.”

Another local, Keld Nylander Andersen, agreed that cops should leave the Hell’s Angels alone.

“They make wherever they live more secure, and if you don’t bother them, they don’t bother you,” Andersen wrote on the website of local newspaper Fyens Stiftstidende. “People welcome 500 refugees with flags and a celebration, but if two bikers show up, everyone goes crazy and says terrible things about them.”

Another poster said that any questioning of refugees lead to people being called “nasty racists”, but that the same people would like to see the Hell’s Angels members “tarred and feathered and run out of town”.

Bramsen shocked
Nyborg mayor Kenneth Muhs refused to comment on the controversy – a response that Socialdemokraterne MP Trine Bramsen found shocking.

“We need to stand side-by-side and condemn these comments,” said Bramsen. “Bikers are deeply problematic. They are behind most of the serious crimes in Denmark.”

Bramsen accused bikers of enticing young people into becoming criminals and called them the “masterminds” behind drug trafficking in Denmark.

READ MORE: “Not welcome” signs hung on the walls of new asylum centre

Many Nyborg residents turned out to welcome 500 refugees into their community in December with flags and a celebration.

TOP STORIES

  • Bestselling author of ‘The Year of Living Danishly’ Helen Russell on why she moved back to the UK after 12 years

    Bestselling author of ‘The Year of Living Danishly’ Helen Russell on why she moved back to the UK after 12 years

    After more than a decade living in Denmark, Russell shares why she made the move, how she’s coping, what she already misses, and the exciting new projects she’s working on. “It’s been a very tough decision. I love Denmark, and it will always hold a special place in my heart,” she says.

  • Denmark launches first AI supercomputer

    Denmark launches first AI supercomputer

    The new Gefion AI supercomputer is one of the world’s fastest and will accelerate research and provide new opportunities in Danish academia and industry.

  • Navigating big love, big moves and big feelings

    Navigating big love, big moves and big feelings

    Experts believe it takes seven years to move into a new culture, according to leading Danish psychologist Jette Simon and therapist Vibeke Hartkorn. For expat couples, the challenges of starting a new life together in Denmark can put pressure on relationships, but emotions-focused therapy can help.

  • More and more Danes are working after retirement age

    More and more Danes are working after retirement age

    Politicians debate a lot these days about when you can retire. The reality shows that an increasing number of Danes like to work, even if they can withdraw from the labor market. Financial incentives help.

  • Environmental activist fears death in prison if extradited to Japan

    Environmental activist fears death in prison if extradited to Japan

    Canadian-born environmental activist Paul Watson has been in prison in Greenland for almost 100 days awaiting an extradition decision for a 14-year-old offence against a Japanese whaling vessel that he calls a “minor misdemeanor”. The 73-year-old had previously passed through Ireland, Switzerland, Monaco, France and the USA without trouble, before Greenlandic police arrested him in July.

  • Denmark too slow to ease recruitment rules for non-EU service workers, say industry associations

    Denmark too slow to ease recruitment rules for non-EU service workers, say industry associations

    When the Danish government in January presented the first of its schemes to make it easier to recruit foreign labour from outside the EU, it was hailed by the healthcare and service sectors as a timely and important policy shift. But while healthcare changes have been forthcoming, the service sector is still struggling, say the directors of the industry association Dansk Industri and one of the country’s largest private employers ISS.

Connect club

Connect Club is your gateway to a vibrant programme of events and an international community in Denmark.

Sign up here

Career

  • Come and join us at Citizens Days!

    Come and join us at Citizens Days!

    On Friday 27 and Saturday 28 of September, The Copenhagen Post will be at International Citizen Days in Øksnehallen on Vesterbro, Copenhagen. Admission is free and thousands of internationals are expected to attend

  • Diversifying the Nordics: How a Nigerian economist became a beacon for inclusivity in Scandinavia

    Diversifying the Nordics: How a Nigerian economist became a beacon for inclusivity in Scandinavia

    Chisom Udeze, the founder of Diversify – a global organization that works at the intersection of inclusion, democracy, freedom, climate sustainability, justice, and belonging – shares how struggling to find a community in Norway motivated her to build a Nordic-wide professional network. We also hear from Dr. Poornima Luthra, Associate Professor at CBS, about how to address bias in the workplace.

  • Lolland Municipality launches support package for accompanying spouses

    Lolland Municipality launches support package for accompanying spouses

    Lolland Municipality, home to Denmark’s largest infrastructure project – the Fehmarnbelt tunnel connection to Germany – has launched a new jobseeker support package for the accompanying partners of international employees in the area. The job-to-partner package offers free tailored sessions on finding a job and starting a personal business.

Want to advertise your job with CPH Post?

Contact us

Jobs