According to statistics from the Danish Ministry of Justice, immigrants from non-Western countries, who represent 8.4 percent of Denmark’s population, are found guilty of 14 percent of serious violent offenses and 24.3 percent of rapes in the nation. Second-generation immigrants from these regions, accounting for only 2.2 percent of the populace, are linked to 15.6 percent of violent crimes and 8.1 percent of rapes. Cumulatively, individuals of non-Western descent are responsible for 29.6 percent of violent crimes and 32.4 percent of rapes, despite constituting just 10.6 percent of the population.
“These are deeply disturbing numbers. We therefore have to take firm action against this behavior, which is completely unacceptable,” Justice Minister Peter Hummelgaard conveyed to Berlingske, a Danish news outlet. Remix News & Views (@RMXnews) highlighted on February 1, 2023, how Denmark’s left-wing government has managed to decrease asylum applications by 82% and significantly reduce immigration.
The minister expressed extreme frustration, stating, “It infuriates me beyond words that people we invite to our country return our hospitality by committing rape and serious violence that destroys other people’s lives here in Denmark.”
Lars Hojsgaard Andersen, a researcher with the Rockwool Foundation specializing in crime and minority studies, attributes these trends to economic and social hardships. He notes that young men arriving in Denmark face significant challenges, including trauma, scarce resources, and employment barriers, which should be considered in contrast to the circumstances of ethnic Danes.
“From a social point of view, it is challenging that crime increasingly has an ethnic face. Culture, traditions and parenting also contribute to the differences in crime between different ethnic groups,” Andersen observed. He also mentioned, “We don’t really know what the specific explanation is. But it is striking that people from Muslim countries in the Middle East and North Africa, as well as Pakistan and Turkey, almost always fare worse when it comes to crime.”
The Danish Penitentiary Service reveals that 27.6 percent of the prison population consists of first or second-generation immigrants. Including illegal immigrants, tourists, and other non-resident categories, the figure exceeds 31 percent, marking an increase from 26.8 percent a decade ago. Notably, the proportion of second-generation immigrants in prison has seen a continuous rise since 2014.
Justice Minister Hummelgaard is advocating for stricter and lengthier sentences for grave violent offenses and rape. However, Professor Andersen suggests that while longer sentences may temporarily remove criminals from society, they don’t deter crime effectively. He recommends focusing on crime prevention and rehabilitating incarcerated individuals to prevent reoffending.
Hummelgaard’s criminal justice reform initiatives also include crime prevention measures, expanding prison capacity, and opting for non-incarceration strategies for minor offenses to free up prison space. To address prison overcrowding, Denmark entered into an agreement with Kosovo in 2021 to secure 300 spots in a detention facility, though no Danish convicts have been transferred to Kosovo as of yet.
