Abstract
Abstract
Over the past few years, several European countries have been the targets of major terrorist attacks. The violent attacks in Paris in 2015, in particular, became a watershed moment for the European view on the current threat level, setting in motion a range of initiatives in many countries. These countries are strengthening their plans to deal with potential attacks, and, as part of this process, they are improving the level and quality of cooperation between the police and the military. Similar considerations have also been ongoing in Denmark, primarily as part of the response to the terrorist attack in Copenhagen in 2015; these initiatives are therefore considered in this report. This report conducts an analysis of these changes and provides an overview of the current approach to military and police cooperation in selected European countries. This report presents a comparative analysis of the Danish system of cooperation between the police and the military, emphasising legal aspects and considerations. The system is compared to parallel systems in Norway, Great Britain, and France, and the comparative analysis shows that Denmark distinguishes itself in three core aspects: 1) The Danish system is based on a highly informal structure, both legally and in practice, compared to the other countries, 2) Denmark has not developed a clear political-strategic framework for the system of cooperation, or produced comprehensive analyses thereof, and 3) Danish soldiers are only rarely used to support the police through so-called ’special assistance’ – the type of assistance where soldiers risk having to confront civilians and potentially use force against them. Based on these conclusions, the report stresses that several key aspects of the cooperative relationship between the police and the military should be addressed at the political level. In particular, three core questions should be answered: 1) Should the police receive more assistance from the military than what it currently receives, and, if so, should the military be structured, or even funded, in a way that takes such changes into account? If no additional assistance is provided, should the police be strengthened and potentially equipped and trained specifically for this task? 2) Should Denmark maintain a highly flexible legal system for the cooperation between the police and military, or should it develop firmer and more detailed legal rules to govern the relationship? 3) Should a stricter separation between the general work of the police and that of the military be maintained or strengthened, based on considerations of principle, or should the two organisations be allowed to work closer together in the future? Following these considerations, the report notes that the current legal framework is IV very vague, and it could benefit from a review. In addition, it is recommended that the relevant governmental authorities initiate a process of developing a political-strategic framework for the system of cooperation, noting that the first steps in this process could be establishing an expert panel, or a similar working group, which is given full access to confidential information and materials.