Police organisation
National enhed for Særlig Kriminalitet
A nationwide investigative unit established in 2022 which, in the Danish police’s own description, forms the fifteenth police district.
At a glance
- Official name
- National enhed for Særlig Kriminalitet (NSK)
- Commonly rendered in English as
- Special Crime Unit — a rendering in common use, not the organisation’s own name.
- System
- Denmark
- Level of government
- National
- Kind of body
- Criminal investigation agency
- Status
- Currently operating
- Facts last checked against sources
- 13 September 2026
What it is
The Danish police describe the Special Crime Unit as "the 15th police district" — a unit that occupies a place in the district structure without having a territory. It is a useful corrective to the assumption that a police district must be a place: Denmark chose to give a national investigative body the same constitutional position in the organisation as a geographical district.
What it covers
Nationwide, by subject matter rather than by territory.
Broad responsibilities
- Nationwide investigation, as the unit within the district structure
Elsewhere on this site
- Who polices what — how Denmark is structured, against other systems
Other organisations to compare
- Rigspolitiet — Denmark
Where this connects
Institutions: National police.
Sources
Rigspolitiet (Danish National Police), politi.dk · Government publication · link verified 2026-09-13
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, which is a nationwide investigative unit established in 2022". Re-read on 2026-09-13, when the page also gave the organisation’s name as Rigspolitiet in Danish and "Danish National Police" in English, and stated that "The Kingdom of Denmark consists of a total of 15 police districts". 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.