Dangerous Copenhagen areas ‘spotted’
City council and police draw up crime ‘hot spots’ for the first time in annual criminal index map The nation’s capital may be relatively safe in comparison to many big cities around the world, but certain areas are considered fairly...
The nation’s capital may be relatively safe in comparison to many big cities around the world, but certain areas are considered fairly violent.
Every year, the city council and Copenhagen Police produce a map showing where crime is concentrated. It is used to determine where to focus crime-fighting resources.
This year, the map includes four ‘hot spots’, which are Nørrebro, the central city, Christianshavn and Bispebjerg.
Meanwhile, the annual ‘Security Index’ has just been released. It shows that 92 percent of city dwellers feel relatively safe walking around their neighbourhood during the day. But every third person feels unsafe at night.
The index also shows that almost 70 percent of violent incidents and 86 percent of threats are not reported to the police.
‘Maybe some of those people think it’s dangerous to report the crime and are afraid for their own safety,’ said Per Larsen, superintendent of Copenhagen Police. ‘But if they don’t go to the police, then we’ll never get a grip on the problem.’
Larsen said it was especially the elderly who tended to avoid going out at night for fear of their own safety.
According to the index and map, the safest areas of the city are Vanløse, Østerbro and the Amager area of Sundbyøster.
Deputy mayor Jakob Hougaard admitted that several city areas had crime problems, but was pleased the city council and police had created the map with the ‘hot spots’.
‘Even though Copenhagen is a relatively safe city, we do have problems in certain areas and it’s too high a figure when every third resident feels unsafe in their own neighbourhood at night,’ Hougaard told Politiken newspaper.