Denmark to introduce facial recognition for police investigations by the end of the year

The Danish government has confirmed plans to introduce a facial recognition system for police to use in solving serious crimes. The decision was supported by a coalition of political parties.

The decision is a response to the rise in gang violence and cross-border crime. The new measures will allow police to use facial recognition technology particularly in cases where public safety is seriously threatened, such as murder, rape and serious violence, the Justice Ministry said in a written statement.

The Danish national police, Rigspolitiet, has so far only confirmed that facial biometrics will only be used for passport checks and victim identification, Ritzau reports. The police reportedly have an existing contract for software from BriefCam.

The government agreement followed a series of gang cases, including cases where young Swedes were recruited to commit murders in Denmark. Police will now introduce digital tools that incorporate object and pattern recognition technology, including facial recognition, to speed up investigations. However, the use of facial recognition will not extend to real-time surveillance.

The initiative was presented by the National Police at a meeting at the Ministry of Justice, where it explained the use of object and facial recognition technologies to speed up investigations by automatically scanning video footage obtained during criminal investigations.

The Minister of Justice has informed the Danish Parliament's Justice Committee about these new investigative tools, and the national police are expected to implement the digital systems in the Copenhagen police by the end of 2024.

Focus on serious crimes

The current process of manually reviewing video footage is resource-intensive, the statement said, adding that it is hoped that the new digital tools will reduce the time required for investigations.

Justice Minister Peter Hummelgaard stresses the importance of this technology in solving serious crimes. “The technology not only improves the quality of investigations. It also saves time, which is an absolutely essential factor in investigations. The police will now have the opportunity to use facial recognition in cases such as serious crimes that are dangerous to people and in cases that are important for state security,” he adds.

“The safety of the Danes is of crucial importance to me and I am prepared to make great efforts to achieve this. I know that there are different views within parties and organizations on the use of facial recognition. But in this context, the most important thing for me is that the police are given the right tools to fight crime.”

Caution regarding data protection

The initiative has received broad political support, but caution is being called for regarding data protection. Venstre's legal spokesman Preben Bang Henriksen supports the move, pointing out that it gives the police the tools they need to combat gang violence more effectively. Tobias Grotkjær Elmstrøm of the Moderates stresses that while it is important to equip the police with the necessary resources, considerations regarding data protection and citizens' legal rights should not be ignored.

SF's legal reporter Karina Lorentzen stresses that the use of facial recognition must be strictly limited to the most serious cases. SF will closely monitor the introduction of the technology and push for an evaluation after a test phase.

In addition to facial recognition, it will also improve the police's ability to solve crimes related to encrypted communication services, which are often used by organized crime.

The use of facial recognition technology by the police is subject to existing data protection laws, including the Data Protection Regulation and the Criminal Prosecution Act. Currently, the Danish police use facial recognition technology to identify victims of child sexual abuse, but the new measures represent an expansion of its use.

Article topics

biometric identification | biometrics | BriefCam | criminal ID card | data protection | Denmark | facial recognition | police