Denmark wants border controls with Sweden
In the wake of explosions at several locations in Denmark including a police station and the Danish Tax Agency in Copenhagen the Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen has announced that border controls would be reinstated between Denmark and Sweden. The Danish police has arrested a suspect from Sweden. Are such controls the right way to protect Denmark against criminals from its neighbouring country?
State capitulating to organised crime
This is not the way to make society any safer, Dagens Nyheter argues:
“What's the point of introducing border controls between Denmark and Sweden? Criminals and terrorists are also on the move between [the Swedish cities] Landskrona and Malmö. Increasing security with random border checks is just a chimera aimed at calming worried voters. A better option would be to increase the effectiveness of police resources through cooperation with the Danes. ... Limiting the freedom of movement is tantamount to capitulating to organised crime. Why should those who couldn't care less set the standard for everyone?”
Switch the focus to failed integration
Berlingske also sees the measures as the wrong approach:
“We know for sure that the possibility to cross the border freely between Sweden and Denmark has a high cultural, economic and human value. Therefore we should think carefully before introducing controls that entail too many limitations. ... We want to live in a safe and open society so we must turn our attention to the root causes of criminality. We could start by focusing on the unsuccessful integration that is one of the problems in Sweden as in Denmark. We can do more to prevent crime without massive surveillance.”