Be careful not to insult a cop

My experience with the police in Denmark hasn't been outright friendly. They are nosy, bossy and rather impolite, but drop any ideas of complaining to the department. They are protected by law and can demand you answer questions that are otherwise private on the spot. If you refuse, for example, to give them your name, they can detain you, without a right to be put before a judge, until you tell them what your name is. They can arrest you if you offend them. They can stop you and lie about why they stopped you, just because. And the population is okay with that. There is a certain submission to authority in Denmark, and a certain sense of authority over others. If a psychologist says you are a and b and you feel you are b and c instead, the psychologist can add d to your file and make a and b stick. If you act according to b and c, the psychologist can add e to your file and prescribe a treatment for a and b, and e and d. Point is, you can end up not being allowed to define yourself, be told how you are supposed to act sick, and depending on your point of view, be punished for being yourself instead of what a psychologist says you are. The authority of the psychologist in this case comes from a degree the state recognizes. Of course it is over simplification and doesn't apply to every case or happen every day. It is a way of depicting the extent of authority and nature of it in Denmark. If you earn a degree, you are given authority that cannot be challenged without difficulty. With it comes a certain arrogance.

In the case of a police officer, it can be difficult to shake an officer. If an officer thinks you are a criminal, your time is going to be wasted by this officer when ever the two of you run into each other. It is like a cold you can never really shake off. If something bad in town happens, the officer might come to see you, in the middle of say, a lecture at a college that you need to note down for your finals. An officer in Denmark can easily become a bully without any course of appeal for relief as long as they stay within a set of defined administrative actions.

When you meet an officer, be exceedingly polite. Say nothing if you can, but for gods sake, smile! Say nothing offensive and show your love for Denmark. If you don't consent to any searches, you are going to be searched anyways and be on that officers 'best buddies' list.

- Servus