Danish parking inspectors to be trained in terrorist spotting

Copenhagen’s parking inspectors are receiving training from an elite group of former soldiers in a bid to help identify potential terrorist activity and deal with the effects of an attack.

To date, some 120 existing inspectors have been enrolled in the training course run by the former elite soldiers, with the City Council deciding that the training will be extended to all new recruits in a project designed to improve the safety of Copenhagen’s streets at a cost of DKK 3 million. “We have an incredible amount of eyes and ears on the streets and it’s only natural to use them to spot suspicious behaviour,” said the council’s head of parking Anders Moller.

The Guardian GBS security form has provided the former soldiers from the Special Forces who have been specially trained to teach the council officials in how to react in terror situations and also in how to provide police with accurate descriptions of suspects.

The project has already been hailed as a success by City councillors who point to the 1,269 reports to a dedicated police hotline in the past year as proof that the scheme is working. The police have also welcomed the closer collaboration by highlighting the project’s benefits. “We’re going to be making big use of the inspectors during the climate conference in December. They’re constantly on the streets and working to give us good tips that could result in making all the difference in case of a terror attack,” said Chief Superintendent Per Larsen.

Larsen added that the inspectors would not be deliberately placed in harm’s way and that their mission is limited to reporting suspicious activity.