Køge backs nightlife guards and permanent video surveillance

Køge’s nightlife is set to receive extra security guards and permanent video surveillance around the station square, DR reports. The measures are intended to make it safer to move around the city at night.

The guards will be deployed on Fridays and Saturdays as part of a trial scheme. Politicians on Køge’s finance committee backed both proposals on Monday evening.

The measures are expected to cost between 675,000 and 715,000 kroner. Mayor Ken Kristensen of the Liberal Party said the cost was low compared with the need to hold offenders accountable.

“People who do not follow the rules we have established as a society must know that we will do everything we can to pursue them and hold them responsible for their actions,” he said.

The funding will come from the municipality’s 2026 reserve for unforeseen expenses.

Police report increase in offences

Making nightlife safe and secure is a high priority for Midt- and West Zealand Police, said Lene Sveigaard, a deputy police inspector with the force.

“Over the past two years, we have seen an overall increase in the number of offences under criminal law in Køge, although there has been a decline in some areas,” she said.

The trial with security guards will run until the end of April, when the three-year national trial scheme backed by Denmark’s Parliament is also due to end.

Køge’s mayor said he expects the scheme to produce clear results by then, including some reduction in incidents that make people feel unsafe.