Denmark
Criminal investigations in Denmark
How investigation works when the investigator and the prosecutor are the same office: the police district, headed by the Police Commissioner who is also the local prosecutor.
Facts on this page were checked against their sources on .
Criminal investigation in Denmark is carried out by the police districts. Because the head of each district — the Police Commissioner — is simultaneously the local prosecutor, the same office directs the investigation and brings the prosecution before the district court. The nationwide Special Crime Unit does the same for the most complex cases across the whole country.
The same idea, explained generally
- What is a criminal investigation?
A criminal investigation is a legally authorised process for establishing whether an offence occurred and gathering evidence that can be tested in court. This guide explains its structure, safeguards, and known failure modes.
- What is due process?
Due process is the requirement that the state follow fair, established procedures before it takes action against a person. This guide explains what it typically includes and how it differs between systems.
Sources
Sources
Types of legal professions — Denmark (European e-Justice Portal)
European Commission (European e-Justice Portal) · International organisation · link verified 2026-07-26
The European Commission's e-Justice portal page on Denmark's legal professions, read directly and re-confirmed. Supports that the Prosecution Service is "under the authority of the Ministry of Justice" (i.e. not institutionally independent of the executive); its statutory basis in Chapter 10 of the Administration of Justice Act (retsplejeloven), sections 95–107; its three tiers (the Director of Public Prosecutions / Rigsadvokaten, the regional Public Prosecutors / statsadvokaterne, and the Police Commissioners / politidirektørerne); and the integrated model — that the Police Commissioners are "responsible for the investigations carried out by the police district and the activities of the local prosecution service", so the district police head is also the local prosecutor.
Rigspolitiet (Danish National Police), politi.dk · Government publication · link verified 2026-07-26
The Danish National Police's own English site, read directly and re-confirmed. Supports that Denmark is organised into 12 geographical police districts, that the Faroe Islands Police and Greenland Police each form a police district, and that "the 15th police district is the Special Crime Unit", a nationwide investigative unit established in 2022. The specific sentence naming the National Commissioner (Rigspolitichef) as head of Rigspolitiet under the Ministry of Justice was not on the page fetched, so leadership is stated only to the extent the source supports it.