A flaw was found in the police's fingerprint register back in 2023.
Nicolai Wammen calls the process "very unsatisfactory." (Photo: © Liselotte Sabroe, Ritzau Scanpix) 59 minutes ago.
In 2023, an investigator at the National Unit for Special Crime (NSK) accidentally discovered a flaw in the police's fingerprint system, which links traces and fingerprints.
But it was not until 2025 that the National Police informed the Independent Oversight Body for Evidence about the flaw.
A flaw that may have meant that perpetrators' fingerprints were not linked to traces from crime scenes, and that they may ultimately have gone free.
It is Ingeniøren that has uncovered the case.
And now the Minister of Justice, Nicolai Wammen (S), is directing harsh criticism at the National Police. He does so in a written response to Ingeniøren and DR News.
"I understand that the ministry has not been informed about the case. I also understand that the Independent Oversight Body for Evidence has not been informed in a timely manner. It is, of course, very unsatisfactory that the oversight body was not informed when such a serious flaw was discovered."
He notes that the police have apologized for the process. Nevertheless, he has requested a report.
"When I have received the report, I will decide what action it warrants. I have also asked the National Police to review their case procedures in such matters. Among other things, to ensure that the procedures for informing the oversight body are adequate," he says.
---------------
Missing coding
---------------
The flaw, which an NSK employee discovered about three years ago, showed that in the period from 2014 to 2023, coding of fingerprints from crime scenes was missing in several thousand criminal cases.
Because the coding was missing, it was not possible to find possible connections between fingerprints found on traces from crime scenes and possible perpetrators.
According to Ingeniøren, which has read the notification from the National Police, the NSK has examined ten percent of the criminal cases where fingerprint coding was missing from the register.
In that connection, a match was found between persons and 77 traces in 35 criminal cases. Since the investigation only covers ten percent of the criminal cases, the number of matches could be much higher.
-----------------
Police apologize
-----------------
The National Police have apologized for the flaw. They have done so to Ingeniøren and in a written quote to DR News.
"As appears from the report of June 25, 2025, to the Evidence Oversight Body, the National Police and the Director of Public Prosecutions have assessed that it cannot be ruled out that the flaw has had implications for legal certainty."
"Thus, if the coding of the trace prints had been present, it cannot be ruled out that in several cases investigated by the police, identification by fingerprint could have occurred."
However, the National Police also emphasize that a fingerprint cannot stand alone in a criminal case.
"The National Police cannot, therefore, provide further details on whether there are cases that, as a result of a missing coding of a trace print, were not solved, and if so, how many."
"Regarding the 35 cases, the National Police can state that these are serious criminal cases. The National Police are in the process of investigating the status of the cases."
Warning: This article was translated by a Large Language Model, in case of doubt, you can always visit the original source.