Key Information

City

Copenhagen

Country

Denmark

Population

583,525

Local Political Leadership

Lord Mayor Jensen

SCN Steering Committee Member

KEY INITIATIVES

• Radicalisation Hotline

  Since 2009, the City of Copenhagen has operated a hotline providing assistance and advice to parents, relatives, frontline workers such as teachers, and others who are concerned that an individual is at risk of radicalisation or already part of an extremist environment.  Cases of concern are passed on to The Copenhagen Coordination Unit. A large majority of referrals do not require an in-depth one-to-one follow up. In 2015, the radicalisation hotline received 100 calls, 18 of which were passed on for individual counselling through a mentor or parental coaching program.

  Radicalisation HotlineRead Less

• Coordination unit

  The coordination unit consists of VINK, SSP, Copenhagen Police and the municipal gang-exit unit. The Danish Probation Services participate on an ad-hoc basis whenever a case involves a prisoner, as do the psychiatric authorities whenever relevant. The partners screen each individual case based on the information that has been provided to the hotline as well as relevant background information already stored in the municipal or police systems. The unit can decide to close the case if it does not involve radicalisation or it can decide to arrange for a meeting with the citizen with the aim of setting up a mentor program (see below).

  Coordination unitRead Less

• Mentor and parental coaching programs

  VINK’s mentoring programme provides one-to-one counselling for youth who are at risk of radicalisation, and also provides support for the parents of those both ‘at risk’ and who are already radicalised. This includes counselling for youth who are at risk of leaving the country to join violent extremist movements, as well as those further along the path who have already travelled, and those who have returned.

  VINK employs 17 counsellors, including 4 to 5 who work specifically with parents. All of them have a background in working with vulnerable youth.  On average, a counsellor spends around 4 to 5 hours per week with their mentee, but at times of emergency the mentor can spend up to 12 hours a week.

  VINK mentors follow a two-way approach of support which is aimed at challenging the individual’s radical viewpoint, but also takes account of the fact that many young citizens who are referred to the programme are already finding themselves on the fringes of society. The former is centred on enhancing critical thinking skills and, importantly, encouraging their mentee to move away from their black and white worldview, for example through introducing them to new people and alternative ways of viewing society and people around them. The latter focuses on supporting youth in fulfilling their basic needs – both physically and mentally – including help with attending school, finding a job or managing difficult family relationships.

  In 2015, the VINK mentor programme supported 18 cases, with many cases of female returnees from Syria. The length of support an individual receives is decided on a case-by-case basis, rather than being dictated by set frameworks.

  Mentor and parental coaching programsRead Less

ADDITIONAL ACTIVITIES BY SECTOR

• Prisons & Probation

  With the Ministry of Justice heavily invested in CVE work across Denmark, work to counter radicalisation, as well as targeted de-radicalisation and disengagement interventions is a key focus area. With core involvement from prison and probation services, the Danish Security and Intelligence Service (PET) and other agencies, policy in this field is necessarily governed at the national level, rather than the local.

  Past schemes include the ‘Back on Track’ initiative (launched 2011), which delivered targeted intervention and mentoring for prisoners, aimed at de-radicalisation for extremist offenders as well as support for other prisoners identified as at risk of extremism and radicalisation. It also incorporated guidance and training for prison officers on how to identify signs of radicalisation and violent extremism among prisoners. Back on Track built on the previous ‘De-radicalisation – Targeted Intervention’ plan, which emphasised multi-agency partnership, particularly involving the PET, East Jutland Police and the municipalities of Copenhagen and Aarhus. More recent initiatives have led by the Prison and Probation Services have succeeded the ‘Back on Track’ initiative, with work in prisons and with prisoners on probation remaining a key area of focus for CVE across Denmark.

  Prisons & ProbationRead Less

• Policing & Security

  The Danish Security and Intelligence Services (PET) play a leading role in countering violent extremism across the county, with direct involvement in many intervention cases, leadership on matters involving criminal investigation, and the sharing of knowledge and expertise to bolster the capacity of other frontline services, including regional police forces.

  Specific PET initiatives include the Dialogue Forum, held a few times a year, as a roundtable meeting between PET and Denmark’s Muslim community to discuss various issues related to violent extremism. The PET also hosts other civil society projects targeting a wide range of citizens from different backgrounds.

  Policing & Security Read Less

'TAGS'

Crime Prevention De-radicalisation and Disengagement Interventions Mentoring Programmes Multi-agency partnership Prisons and Probation Social Work Support Hotlines