A special cyber patrol maintains law and order with a mouse at the ready, and during their work, employees received more than 5 thousand tips from the online community.
At the Danish Police headquarters in Denmark, officers stare at their computers in search of dangerous criminals. However, advanced police officers do not search for villains in databases or social networks, for this they spend hours playing Counter-Strike and other games. How does this very unusual system of catching criminals work?
The special police force, which has ten qualified officers, was created last year amid an increase in online crime during the COVID pandemic and lockdowns. Law enforcement officers work openly, their nicknames directly inform other players that they are from the police. Although sometimes officers can work undercover.
Cyber Patrol is also present on Twitch, Discord, Instagram *, Facebook * and TikTok, with the goal of making the internet safer for both children and adults. The main targets of the squad are financial scammers and sexual maniacs, but such personalities, of course, are not limited.
"Just as you see a police car patrolling the streets, you can now see police officers in cyberspace," explains Cisse Birkebeck, head of the patrol.
Miriam Michaelsen, a Danish lawyer and founder of the Digital Responsibility Association, has long called for police to monitor the Internet. "When you see a police car passing by, it can have an impact on both victims and perpetrators... It's the same on the Internet, " says Michaelsen.
Since its creation in April 2022, the online police patrol has already opened more than 65 cases. "We see a lot of cases of abuse and attempted harassment of teenagers. A lot of attempts to extort money from them, a lot of cases of fraud in the gaming community, " says Birkebeck.
Cyber squad members are reportedly playing CS: GO, Valorant, Fortnite, and FIFA. They use the nicknames "Officer 1", "Officer 2", etc. Law enforcement officers play, watch and make contacts, just as if they were on a regular patrol on the street. However, they are also not deprived of work on the street. Most often, patrol officers do not work at the same time, but 2-3 people each, periodically replacing each other.
On Twitch, we directly say: "Hi, we are police officers. We are playing and we need volunteers from the chat. You can come and play with us, " said 36-year-old officer Rimer Torup.
Currently, the police have 127 thousand subscribers on TikTok, 23 thousand on Twitch, 10 thousand on Facebook and 6 thousand on Instagram. It is understood that any player who is in trouble can personally talk to cyber officers, asking them for help.
Since the department was launched, police officers have received more than 5,200 tips from the online community. In his spare time, Rimer Torup runs an esports club for teenagers based at the Copenhagen police Station. Many children come from poor neighborhoods and may also report something amiss to the officers.
"I don't think we can solve all the problems with digital violence by having an online patrol like this. But if we see that at least 10, 15, 20 people get help in a way that they would not have dared to ask for otherwise, it makes a certain difference, " Miriam Michaelsen said.
Budgets for funding cyber patrol are still agreed and discussed annually, but officers hope that such online activity will become permanent for them. All members of the digital team speak positively about this work. According to them, being pioneers in something is extremely exciting. And patrolling in video games itself is not a dusty, fun and interesting activity at all.
Would you like to serve in a similar online squad and fight cybercriminals and other online villains?
At the Danish Police headquarters in Denmark, officers stare at their computers in search of dangerous criminals. However, advanced police officers do not search for villains in databases or social networks, for this they spend hours playing Counter-Strike and other games. How does this very unusual system of catching criminals work?
The special police force, which has ten qualified officers, was created last year amid an increase in online crime during the COVID pandemic and lockdowns. Law enforcement officers work openly, their nicknames directly inform other players that they are from the police. Although sometimes officers can work undercover.
Cyber Patrol is also present on Twitch, Discord, Instagram *, Facebook * and TikTok, with the goal of making the internet safer for both children and adults. The main targets of the squad are financial scammers and sexual maniacs, but such personalities, of course, are not limited.
"Just as you see a police car patrolling the streets, you can now see police officers in cyberspace," explains Cisse Birkebeck, head of the patrol.
Miriam Michaelsen, a Danish lawyer and founder of the Digital Responsibility Association, has long called for police to monitor the Internet. "When you see a police car passing by, it can have an impact on both victims and perpetrators... It's the same on the Internet, " says Michaelsen.
Since its creation in April 2022, the online police patrol has already opened more than 65 cases. "We see a lot of cases of abuse and attempted harassment of teenagers. A lot of attempts to extort money from them, a lot of cases of fraud in the gaming community, " says Birkebeck.
Cyber squad members are reportedly playing CS: GO, Valorant, Fortnite, and FIFA. They use the nicknames "Officer 1", "Officer 2", etc. Law enforcement officers play, watch and make contacts, just as if they were on a regular patrol on the street. However, they are also not deprived of work on the street. Most often, patrol officers do not work at the same time, but 2-3 people each, periodically replacing each other.
On Twitch, we directly say: "Hi, we are police officers. We are playing and we need volunteers from the chat. You can come and play with us, " said 36-year-old officer Rimer Torup.
Currently, the police have 127 thousand subscribers on TikTok, 23 thousand on Twitch, 10 thousand on Facebook and 6 thousand on Instagram. It is understood that any player who is in trouble can personally talk to cyber officers, asking them for help.
Since the department was launched, police officers have received more than 5,200 tips from the online community. In his spare time, Rimer Torup runs an esports club for teenagers based at the Copenhagen police Station. Many children come from poor neighborhoods and may also report something amiss to the officers.
"I don't think we can solve all the problems with digital violence by having an online patrol like this. But if we see that at least 10, 15, 20 people get help in a way that they would not have dared to ask for otherwise, it makes a certain difference, " Miriam Michaelsen said.
Budgets for funding cyber patrol are still agreed and discussed annually, but officers hope that such online activity will become permanent for them. All members of the digital team speak positively about this work. According to them, being pioneers in something is extremely exciting. And patrolling in video games itself is not a dusty, fun and interesting activity at all.
Would you like to serve in a similar online squad and fight cybercriminals and other online villains?
