No weapons for soldiers assisting the police

The Danish Denfence has decided that soldiers deployed to help Rigspolitiet will remain unarmed

Should Parliament accept Dansk Folkeparti’s proposal regarding the Danish Defence helping out the national police in certain matters, the soldiers will not be permitted to carry weapons, Danish Defence has decided.

However, the army’s commander in chief, Major General Hans-Christian Mathiesen, worries this could lead to situations when soldiers would not be able to react in a timely and adequate manner and thus be “exposed to undue risk”.

READ MORE: Political majority to allow armed soldiers on Denmark’s streets

Makes no sense
Similarly, Colonel Eigil Schjønning is finding the decision hard to swallow.

“A soldier is trained with a gun and a uniform, and now we are putting them into potentially dangerous situations while not being armed. I have a problem with that,” Schjønning told Radio24syv.

A professional soldier is trained to always have his gun within reach. Most of those who have been specifically trained to go to the asylum centres, have been on dangerous missions before and cannot understand this.”

Soldiers will only be allowed to carry handcuffs, plastic strips and pepper spray, while weapons will only be provided if the police believes it is necessary.





  • How internationals can benefit from joining trade unions

    How internationals can benefit from joining trade unions

    Being part of a trade union is a long-established norm for Danes. But many internationals do not join unions – instead enduring workers’ rights violations. Find out how joining a union could benefit you, and how to go about it.

  • Internationals in Denmark rarely join a trade union

    Internationals in Denmark rarely join a trade union

    Internationals are overrepresented in the lowest-paid fields of agriculture, transport, cleaning, hotels and restaurants, and construction – industries that classically lack collective agreements. A new analysis from the Workers’ Union’s Business Council suggests that internationals rarely join trade unions – but if they did, it would generate better industry standards.

  • Novo Nordisk overtakes LEGO as the most desirable future workplace amongst university students

    Novo Nordisk overtakes LEGO as the most desirable future workplace amongst university students

    The numbers are especially striking amongst the 3,477 business and economics students polled, of whom 31 percent elected Novo Nordisk as their favorite, compared with 20 percent last year.