Expected update: Ruling party calls on police to reveal the ethnic backgrounds of those accused of crimes
According to TV2 Fyn, the Social Democratic Party, through its legal spokesperson in parliament, Bjørn Brandenborg, has put forward a proposal requiring the Danish police to publish information about the ethnic background of people accused or convicted in criminal cases.
Brandenburg explained that this step aims to promote transparency and public discussion about the identities of perpetrators of crimes in society, noting that the current system relies on “arbitrary” criteria that determine when this information is released and when it is not. He added, “I think it’s important that we have openness and discussion about who commits crimes in our society. Therefore, I believe that the police and authorities should disclose ethnicity in all cases where this is possible.”.
Alarming statistics were included in the Ministry of Justice report.
The proposal came after TV2Vion published an analysis from the Ministry of Justice revealing that the children of immigrants of non-Western origin are disproportionately represented in cases of group violence. Brandenburg called these figures “absolutely insane,” urging greater transparency in addressing the issue.
Opposition from the United List party
Rosa Lund, legal spokesperson for the Unity List party, rejected the idea of permanently publishing this information, stating, "I need to understand what the purpose of this is." She emphasized that publishing ethnicity data might be meaningful when the police are searching for a suspect, but it "loses its value once the person has already been convicted." She added that the Ministry of Justice publishes detailed annual reports on the relationship between ethnicity and crime, and therefore "the knowledge is already available in the right place.".
The Danish People's Party supports the proposal.
In contrast, Mikkel Bjørn of the Danish People's Party expressed his support for the proposal, arguing that citizens should have "as much information as possible about those who commit crimes." He explained, "We cannot solve any problem—even politically—if the people and their representatives do not have sufficient insight into the causes of crime.".
Renewed debate within parliament
In recent years, the debate has resurfaced repeatedly in parliament regarding whether the police should disclose the ethnic background of suspects. In the fall of 2023, seven members of the Danish People's Party submitted a proposal to require the police to include ethnicity in all official reports concerning those arrested or convicted. However, when the proposal was put to a vote in the spring of 2024, it received only eight votes in favor, while 101 members opposed it.
An upcoming update to the police manual
The issue resurfaced in the fall of 2024 when it was revealed that the police's internal media relations manual prohibited the dissemination of racial information. Following this, Justice Minister Peter Hummelgaard announced he would ask the police to update the manual to relax the restrictions. In May 2025, the newspaper BT reported that the police were still working on updating the manual but were in their final stages. Brandenburg emphasized that he would not be satisfied until the police issued a system guaranteeing complete transparency.
Legal obstacle due to European data protection law
However, the situation remains complicated by EU data protection laws (GDPR). According to an official police response to politician Pia Kjærsgaard in the summer of 2024, ethnicity-related data can only be processed if there is a “professional necessity for the performance of police duties in the criminal field.”.
Professor Jan Trzaskowski, a specialist in privacy and data protection law at Aalborg University, emphasized that ethnicity is “sensitive information that cannot be automatically recorded.” He explained: “The police must have a specific legal justification for collecting ethnicity data, and this, of course, limits the possibility of using statistics broadly. Danish politicians cannot simply mandate the collection of this data in all cases.”.
