The State Attorney acknowledges "unintentional" use by students.
DR-Inland in Denmark
Saturday, May 31, 2025 • 10:20 AM UTC - in Denmark
A state attorney at the Office of the Attorney General, Steen Bechmann Jacobsen, has stated that it is generally a good idea to use students in various cases, but not to explain decisions to citizens in their cases.
- This is what we have decided to change now, because it is an inappropriate procedure, and therefore it is obviously the prosecutor that one should be able to contact, he says in P1 Orientation.
------------------
Unknown extent
------------------
DR has reported on seven cases of sexual offenses ( https://www.dr.dk/nyheder/indland/syv-sager-om-muligt-misbrug-og-voldtaegt-blev-behandlet-af-studerende-hos ), where in the decision a person is listed as the one to be contacted if the citizen has questions about the decision. All decisions are signed by a special prosecutor.
>
> I don't know, in how many cases we have had a conversation with a
> student, who has spoken about the material aspects of the case.
> Steen Bechmann Jacobsen, state attorney at the Office of the Attorney General
That a student is listed as the contact person has met criticism from experts, who believe it is in conflict with the Administrative Procedure Act.
Steen Bechmann Jacobsen cannot disclose the extent of cases where in the decision there has been a person listed as the contact person who is not fully qualified.
- I don't know, in how many cases we have had a conversation with a student, who has spoken about the material aspects of the case (for example evidence, etc.). We have at least in many cases been able to ask to speak with a prosecutor, who also signs the document, says state attorney at the Office of the Attorney General, Steen Bechmann Jacobsen.
Even though it is far from all cases, he assesses that it may have happened in several cases.
--------------------------
Long pauses are not good enough
--------------------------
DR has reported on Rikke's case of rape ( https://www.dr.dk/nyheder/indland/rikke-klagede-over-afgoerelse-i-voldtaegtssag-og-fik-studerende-i-roeret ), where in the decision Rikke receives from the Office of the Attorney General, it states that she should contact a named person if she has questions about why the Office of the Attorney General is laying her case aside.
Read also: Rikke complained about the decision in the rape case and was met by a student ( https://www.dr.dk/nyheder/indland/rikke-klagede-over-afgoerelse-i-voldtaegtssag-og-fik-studerende-i-roeret )
She discovers by googling the name that appears in the decision that it is a student.
In the conversation, the student explains that he "writes a draft of how the decision should look", but that a special prosecutor - "especially" when it comes to rape cases - goes through all the documents and quality-assures the decision.
He also says that he does not work alone with the case. Rikke asks several questions, including about the evidence in the case and does not feel that she gets answers to them.
Rikke participates only with her first name due to the nature of the case.
Listen to her questions here
Steen Bechmann Jacobsen cannot comment on the concrete case, but he does not think that it is good enough that Rikke was met with long pauses when she tried to get answers from the Office of the Attorney General.
Is it good treatment?
- No, I don't think so, but I cannot comment on the concrete case, he says.
-----------------------
What is the Office of the Attorney General?
-----------------------
The Office of the Attorney General is part of the prosecution service and supervises the police's handling of criminal cases. It is the Office of the Attorney General that one can appeal decisions made by judges in the police - for example decisions on whether to bring a case.
The Office of the Attorney General has three departments. One in Western Denmark located in Viborg and one in Eastern Denmark, which is located in Copenhagen. In addition, the Office of the Attorney General has a department for special crimes, which is located in Copenhagen.
-----------------------------------
Attempting to be service-oriented
-----------------------------------
Steen Bechmann Jacobsen cannot disclose when the procedure, which he believes is inappropriate, began at the Office of the Attorney General.
He assesses that it has not been done to save resources, but instead to be service-oriented towards citizens.
- We try in all possible cases to be available to citizens, also so that one can quickly and easily come into contact with the prosecution service. It can be an expression of that, but it is clear that when it comes to discussing concrete decisions, it is not a law student that one should speak with, he says.
He emphasizes that all cases are quality-assured and reviewed by a fully qualified lawyer, and that the decisions themselves on the cases are not made by the student.
It is not the first time that the Office of the Attorney General has faced criticism of its decisions. In four cases of dangerous crimes ( https://www.dr.dk/nyheder/indland/80-aarige-henry-kjaer-blev-fundet-i-en-blodpoel-paa-plejehjem-nu-faar-myndigheder ), which DR has reported on, experts believe that the Office of the Attorney General's decisions are incorrect ( https://www.dr.dk/nyheder/indland/maria-anmeldte-mand-voldtaegt-fire-andre-gjorde-det-samme-alligevel-kom-han-aldrig ).
---------------------------
Justice Minister involved in the case
---------------------------
It got yesterday Justice Minister Peter Hummelgaard (S) to call it "reasonable", that the Office of the Attorney General, which has supervised the police's decisions, now changes procedures.
At the same time, he opens up to the possibility that the National Audit Office, which after DR's revelations about police corruption is in the process of examining the police's handling of criminal cases, may also examine the Office of the Attorney General's handling of citizens' complaints.
Warning: This article was translated by a Large Language Model, in case of doubt, you can always visit the original source.