Denmark: Police warn of jungle law in ghettos
Police in several ghetto areas are warning that the jungle law - Might makes Right - is pushing Danish law out of those areas. The police see in more and more cases that those with the most muscles or most money win conflicts regarding violence, robberies and thefts - without Danish law and justice.
For example, a group of young immigrants in Gellerup (Aarhus) threatened a women with a knife this past August and forced her to give over about 40,000 kroner. The woman reported the theft to the police, and the young men faced a prison sentence of up to 6 years in Danish court. The perpetrators pressured the women through family members, and she dropped the case in return for getting her money back.
This circumvention of Danish law means that the criminals escaped a theft conviction. They also got 20,000 kroner in compensation from the danish state for unwarranted detention.
Police Commissioner Jens Espensen of the Gellerup neighborhood police says: "We increasingly see a parallel justice system, that is run completely outside Danish laws and regulations. Things are settled by which families are strongest, and who has the most money, together with threats and blackmail. If this is allowed to continue, the young people in these areas will never learn to accept and respect the justice system in Denmark."
These cases constantly take on new forms, says the police.
In Køge (Copenhagen suburb) the police have several examples where young criminals occupied the apartments of sick, elderly or otherwise vulnerable residents, who were threatened not to call for help.
Source: Jyllands-Posten (Danish)
Related posts:
* Denmark: Lawlessness in the ghettos
* Denmark: Internal justice in Muslim communities
* Aarhus: Crimes dealt with in self-appointed courts
