Danish Security and Intelligence Service
[2] The history of PET can be traced back to shortly before World War II when the Danish police force expanded to create Sikkerhedspolitiet (SIPO; lit.
According to this act, SIPO was given the task of “providing a shield against undertakings or actions that can be presumed to be aimed at the independence of the Realm and the legal social system as well carrying out an effective supervision of aliens and travellers”.
In the years following World War II and the liberation of Denmark on 4 May 1945, it was decided on 7 May 1945 to establish the National Commissioner’s Intelligence Department, REA, which was to carry out the tasks that had previously been handled by SIPO.
An independent office was established under the National Commissioner and given the name the Danish Security and Intelligence Service, PET.
In the beginning, PET aimed much of its focus at espionage and other intelligence-related activities carried out by the Soviet Union and the Eastern Bloc countries.
This fear was so tangible that one of the measures taken was to build so-called secure facilities that were to house the government during emergency and war situations.
In 1998, the registration of individuals was one of the issues that were reopened by the PET Commission, which dealt with the intelligence-related activities of the police within the political area from 1945 to 1989.
The committee was given the task of reviewing the regulations governing the registration of individuals and organizations by PET and the Danish Defence Intelligence Service (DDIS).
The changed threat picture in recent years has had the effect a substantial amount of resources has been allocated to PET, turning it into an organization whose staff today consists of a complex group of people from a wide variety of professional areas who possess many different skills.
Moreover, natural and legal persons can request that the Intelligence Oversight Board examines whether PET is wrongfully processing information on them.
The Government must keep the Committee informed of important security and foreign policy issues of significance to the activities of the intelligence services.
The balancing point between intelligence and security tasks in PET is dynamic and determined by current threats and various other external factors.
PET uses knowledge from its intelligence work to identify critical and vulnerable targets in relation to acts of terrorism.
PET also handles security assignments in connection with politicians travelling to high-risk areas as well as local, regional and general elections and, for instance, when Danish athletes participate in major sporting events abroad.
The Security Section under PET’s Special Intervention Unit handles guard and protection assignments.
This could be in connection with incidents that require negotiation in order to avoid the use of force, to prevent any damage, to collect information or to facilitate surrender.
The aim of PET's investigations is typically to establish sufficient grounds for proactive, early and targeted intervention in order to ensure that the threat never materializes.
PET has a special Centre for Investigation tasked with providing the best possible basis for bringing criminal charges in cases relating to terrorism, extremism and espionage.
Like the rest of the Danish police, any criminal investigation performed by PET is subject to the provisions of the Administration of Justice Act.
Militant extremists may be willing to use violent means to achieve their political, ideological or religious objectives and may inspire and radicalize others.
As part of PET’s preventive efforts, PET educates members of staff at for instance the Danish Prison and Probation Service, the Danish Immigration Service, the Armed Forces, the psychiatric sector and the local police districts in order to raise their awareness of the threat picture and enable them to identify and handle signs of radicalization early on.
The intelligence work comprises collection, processing, analysis and communication of data and enables PET to solve its other tasks.
Threat assessments and analytical products are important elements of our operational, intelligence-related and preventive efforts within the fields of counterterrorism and counterintelligence.
The analyses cover a number of topics relating to terrorism – including militant Islamism, political extremism, radicalization, recruitment, networks, modus operandi, terrorist financing as well as other trends which may affect the threat.
The threat assessments and analyses are based on both classified and unclassified information and are primarily for use by PET’s operational departments and external public authorities such as ministries, government agencies and police districts.
Thus, PET has taken to maintain a website explaining its overall aims and obligations and publishing an annual public report surveying extremist activities in Denmark and the threat level to national domestic security (albeit only in a very overall fashion).
