Municipality fears rising costs for anti-terror security
Terror attacks like the one in Berlin have continuously led the Danish police to tighten requirements for anti-terror security so much that volunteer associations struggle to pay the bill.
Many pedestrian streets are now secured against terror with, among other things, concrete blocks and flower planters, as seen here in Frederiksgade in Aarhus. They were installed after a driver plowed through the street toward several groups of people, who had to jump to avoid the car (Photo: © Mikkel Berg Pedersen, Freelance/Ritzau Scanpix) 32 minutes ago
The weekend's terror attack in Berlin risks costing Danish associations money. This is according to Daniel Staugaard (V), chairman of the Culture, Trade, and Tourism Committee in Sønderborg Municipality.
"We see that every time there has been a terror attack, the requirements for anti-terror security are tightened, both for events the municipality holds and for those organized by volunteer associations. It becomes more and more expensive for them to run their events," he says.
It is the police who alone decide what requirements are imposed for anti-terror security at individual events. The municipality has no influence over this. Daniel Staugaard emphasizes, however, that he trusts the police's assessment.
"But it is unfortunate that it is necessary," he says.
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Village must pay for anti-terror security
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In the South Jutland village of Skovby, with just over 300 residents, they have experienced how the costs of anti-terror security have risen. When the Skovby Village Association began organizing Skovby By Night, the costs for anti-terror security were a round zero.
"But in three years, they have risen to 30,000 kroner," says Claus Nielsen, chairman of the association.
One requirement, for example, is that roads must be blocked. They previously tried to handle this themselves with help from local farmers and their tractors, but it turned out to be unsustainable.
"One year, a farmer came to get his tractor because the meteorologists had promised rain, and he needed to harvest. That is completely understandable, but not sustainable for us. So we have had to pay for anti-terror security under normal market conditions," says Claus Nielsen.
Therefore, committee chairman in Sønderborg Municipality, Daniel Staugaard (V), believes the municipality must step in.
"Really, there is only one thing we can do, and that is to find the money in the municipal budget," he says.
Whether the money can be found will be communicated to the committee at their first meeting in August.
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