Denmark unveils new anti-terror plan
February 19, 2015
On Thursday, the Danish government announced that it would invest devote more money to anti-terrorism measures in the wake of a deadly attacks in Copenhagen over the weekend, which left two people dead and five police officers injured.
The 12-point plan includes 970 million Danish crowns ($148 million; 129 million euros) for the PET, Denmark's Security and Intelligence Service, and its foreign intelligence service, known as the FE.
"We want to strengthen our ability to gather and analyze [information] about terror planning abroad," Danish Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt told reporters on Thursday.
Almost half of the sum - 415 million crowns - has been planned for collection of information on terrorist threats from abroad. Emergency response, as well as security monitoring systems and an overall improvement in information technology will receive some 350 million crowns.
This plan aims to boost the ability of Danish authorities to track and analyze information on the Internet, including threats posted on social media.
Better protection for leading politicians and other dignitaries, improving emergency readiness and preventing the radicalization of inmates was also on the list.
Furthermore, gathering "relevant information" about airline passengers and possibly registering pre-paid mobile phone cards were other measures mentioned by Danish Justice Minister Mette Frederiken.
New plan 'not the full solution'
Police officers were reportedly ill-equipped and trained to respond adequately to the weekend attacks, which took place over a period of 13 hours and included a manhunt.
"After the events of the weekend, we can see that there are additional challenges around equipment, bullet-proof vests for police officers, training," Lars Lokke Rasmussen, leader of the opposition Liberal Party, told journalists. "The new spending announced by the government is not the full solution," he said.
The Scandinavian country is still reeling from the weekend violence, which Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt called a terrorist attack.
The attacker, 22-year-old Danish native Omar Abdel Hamid El-Hussein, was known to the police due to his links to a gang in Norrebro. He had been convicted of assault and released from prison weeks before the shootings.
jil/kms (Reuters, dpa)