Danish police want to track everyone’s movements on the net

Head of the national police force jumps into online logging debate

The national police force, Rigspolitiet, wants the ability to track every user’s digital footprints.

“Tracking online movements will help them to identify and arrest criminals, as crime and communication about crime is increasingly taking place in cyberspace,” Rigspolitiet commissioner Jens Henrik Højbjerg told DR Nyheder.

Højbjerg is publicly supporting Søren Pind, who said last month that he would draft a law that created a system of online surveillance.

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Crime fighting
The proposal has been widely criticised, and although the commissioner normally does not get involved in political debates, he has made an exception in this case.

“I need to draw attention to the challenges police are faced with, and increasingly will have to face in the future,” Højbjerg said. “Logging online sessions is an important tool to have if we are to continue to combat serious crime.”

Online behaviour was monitored until 2014, at which point the practice was stopped by the then government, which felt that tracking logins could be used for the investigation or prosecution of criminal offences.

Højbjerg said that the new methods being considered will be more effective.