Police fingerprint error may have let offenders go free

A police fingerprint-system error may have prevented investigators from linking suspects to crime-scene evidence in several thousand criminal cases, potentially allowing offenders to go free, DR reports. The error was discovered in 2023 but was not reported to the Independent Supervisory Authority for Evidence until 2025.

Justice Minister Nicolai Wammen has sharply criticised the National Police over the handling of the case, calling it “highly unsatisfactory” in a written response to Ingeniøren and DR News.

“I understand that the ministry was not informed about the case. I also understand that the Independent Supervisory Authority for Evidence was not informed in a timely manner,” Wammen said.

He said the police had apologised for the handling of the matter but had asked the National Police to provide an account of what happened. He also requested a review of the police’s procedures in similar cases, including whether the authority’s notification procedures are adequate.

Missing coding in thousands of cases

An investigator at the National Unit for Special Crime discovered the error by chance about three years ago. It showed that fingerprint traces from crime scenes had not been coded in several thousand criminal cases between 2014 and 2023.

Because the coding was missing, the system could not identify possible links between fingerprints found at crime scenes and potential offenders.

According to Ingeniøren, which has seen the National Police’s report to the authority, the National Unit for Special Crime examined 10 per cent of the cases in which fingerprint coding was missing. The review found matches between individuals and 77 traces in 35 criminal cases.

Since the review covered only 10 per cent of the cases, the total number of matches could be considerably higher.

Police investigating 35 cases

The National Police has apologised for the error and said it could not be ruled out that it had affected legal safeguards.

“If the crime-scene traces had been coded, it cannot be ruled out that fingerprints could have identified individuals in several cases investigated by the police,” the National Police said.

However, the police also stressed that a fingerprint cannot stand alone in a criminal case. The force said it could not determine how many cases might not have been solved because of the missing coding.

The 35 cases involved serious crimes, according to the National Police, which is investigating their current status.