In this episode of the How to Live in Denmark podcast, host Kay Xander Mellish describes a recent wave of gang‑related shootings in Copenhagen’s northern districts, including incidents that occurred in her own neighbourhood. She outlines the police’s response – the deployment of night‑time helicopters, the creation of “visitation zones” that allow searches without warrants, and talk of involving the military – and notes the limited police presence on the streets. Mellish questions how Denmark’s trust‑based welfare model, which offers free education and job training, can coexist with young men who reject that trust and join gangs, even when lucrative legal jobs are available. She discusses public debates about legalising hashish (the main illegal funding source for gangs) and the right‑wing anti‑immigrant narrative, noting that many gang members are Muslim Danes. Mellish rebukes dismissive arguments that statistics show Denmark is still safe, arguing that personal experience matters and that stray bullets affect innocent civilians. Drawing on her own experience living in high‑crime New York City, she contrasts past daily safety calculations with the current climate in Copenhagen, emphasizing the right to walk freely and wear a knit hat even in August. The episode closes with a promotion of her book How to Live in Denmark and a teaser for her upcoming book How to Work in Denmark.
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Hello and welcome to the How to Live in Denmark podcast. I'm Kay Xander Mellish. If you live in Denmark or follow If you follow the Danish media, you'll know there's been a lot of talk about gangsters over the past couple of weeks. One gang is trying to expand at the expense of another gang. And this summer there have been about 25 shootings in Copenhagen, generally in the northern neighborhoods— my neighborhood. Someone was shot outside my supermarket, someone else was shot outside the school near my house, and a couple of people have been shot just walking down the street. Now, some are gangsters, but a few have been unlucky civilians in the wrong place at the wrong time. All have been young men, and the Copenhagen police went so far as to suggest that young men stop wearing knit hats. Knit hats can be a gang sign. I should point out that this summer in Denmark has been so cold that wearing a knit hat in the middle of August can actually seem like a good idea. At any rate, all night long there are sirens and police helicopters over my neighborhood, keeping people awake. There's been talk of getting the Danish military involved. And the cops have also instituted what's called a visitation zone in my neighborhood. That means they can stop and search anybody without a specific warrant or cause. But I've seen very few cops on the street. Denmark doesn't have that many cops. It's not really set up for gang warfare. It's not set up for crime. As a matter of fact, it doesn't even have room to put the gangsters in jail if it wanted to. Denmark is set up for trust. So the question is, what do you do when some people aren't interested in participating in that trust? Now usually this would be the part of the story when we say, oh, these poor guys, they're so— they had no opportunities and so sad they were forced into gang life. But this is Denmark, where job training and education is all tax-financed and free for the student. So the gang members could technically get free training in whatever non-gang job they were interested in. In fact, one of the supposed gang leaders told a reporter he was a trained metalworker. Metalworkers in Denmark make about 300,000 crowns a year, or $43,000, or €40,000. But the guy said he didn't want to be a metal worker. He thought being a gang leader was more exciting. I don't know the answer, and Danish politicians certainly don't know the answer. Now, some talk about legalizing hashish because illegal hashish sales is what finances the gangs. And the right wing says what it always says, which is, get the foreigners out! Many, but not all, of the gangsters are Muslim Danes, and some Muslim religious leaders are also trying to help them sort things out. What really bugs me is people who say it doesn't really matter. Look at the statistics, they say. Denmark is one of the safest countries in the world. Don't worry. Now, that may be true, but it's a little bit like attending your grandmother's funeral and meeting someone who says, look at the statistics. Most grannies are still alive. Don't worry. Like most things in life, if it's happening to you, it's worth worrying about. I also hear people saying, ah, it's only gangsters shooting at each other. It doesn't matter. They're just taking out the trash. I don't like that. First of all, even if they're gangsters, they're somebody's child, somebody's friend, somebody's partner. Nobody's trash. And secondly, bullets don't work that way. Once they're out of the gun, they can hit anybody. One poor African guy got hit just walking down the street. He had no connections to any gangs, and he's in critical condition. Another family nearby found a random bullet in their couch. It had gone through the living room window. I mean, fortunately nobody had been sitting on the couch at the time. Now I have a personal perspective on this because I used to live in New York City during the high crime days. In those days you used to have to take crime into account in anything you did. You'd plot which street you were going to walk down and, you know, what time of day you could go out. Is it safe? Can I do this? Copenhagen didn't used to be like that, and it shouldn't be. Everyone should be able to walk where they want, where they want to, and wear what they want to. Even in the middle of August, wear a knit hat. And that's the How to Live in Denmark podcast for this week. You can buy the book How to Live in Denmark at Denmark's National Museum or on Amazon, Google Play, or iTunes. Coming soon is my new book, How to Work in Denmark. Follow us on Twitter @HowToLiveInDK. The 2 is a number. See you next time!
