Dania Al Naimi, strolling in the warm September sun with mother Azhar Hussein, paints a bleak picture of her neighborhood: Always something going on—alarms, riots, and shootings.
Gang crime is definitely a big problem for Denmark, she believes, and mother Azhar says that she is often worried when her daughter goes out on the town.
“We have entered a path from which there is no turning back,” says Dania Al Naimi.
Gang crime has taken hold in Denmark and is not something that can easily be legislated away, she believes. On the contrary, she believes that the criminal gangs are triggered by being in the focus of politics. The threat of harsher punishment is nothing that stops them, but what to do instead, she has no answer.
“Dont care”
Mikas Lang, who has lived in north-west Copenhagen for 15 years, also finds it difficult to see that the increased penalties have had an effect so far.
— If the first three packages had been effective, we would not have needed number four. I don’t think the parts dealing with harsher punishments and zoning bans work. Those who are willing to take risks don’t care if it will be, for example, four or eight years in prison.
Mikas Lang has lived in northwest Copenhagen for 15 years.
At the press conference, Denmark’s Minister of Justice Peter Hummelgaard (S) points to Sweden as a deterrent example:
— We shall not have the Swedish permit in Denmark.
Mikas Lang says that he does not know much about what it is like in Sweden, other than that he has heard that there are a lot of shootings.
— But that’s not what I’m most afraid of, on the contrary, I’m more afraid of special legislation that we have in Denmark, such as the ghetto law, where you specifically target certain groups based on ethnicity. That solution is wrong.
“A little insecure”
Parental leave Line Broløs, who is on a pram walk in Mjølnerparken with friends Anna Bach and Rie Scheuermann, says that she is definitely affected every time there is a shooting in Nørrebro, even if she herself has never come close.
— It feels a little unsafe to live here. I don’t think about it all the time, but every time I hear about new shootings. The gang is really just out for each other, but things can get crazy. It makes it feel unsafe.
Rie Scheuermann does not share that feeling.
— I don’t think much about it. It’s not like I’m nervous every time I step outside the door.
The friends Anna Bach, Rie Scheuermann and Line Broløs on parental leave for a walk at Mjølnerparken in Copenhagen.
She also comments that Denmark has now come up with four action packages against gang crime. It shouldn’t have been necessary if the first three had been effective, she believes. But on the other hand, she does not think it is possible to say that the development is going in the wrong direction.
— I have lived in Nørrebro for 15 years and I have not noticed any negative developments. There are no more shootings and the gangs are no longer visible in the street scene. But what happens on a societal level, I am not sufficiently familiar with to comment on.