Politiets Aktionsstyrke (AKS) is the special forces unit of the Danish police

Police of Denmark

The police of Denmark is the interior part of the Danish legitimate force providers...

.

AKS is a national SWAT

SWAT

A SWAT team is an elite tactical unit in various national law enforcement departments. They are trained to perform high-risk operations that fall outside of the abilities of regular officers...

 unit. It is meant to handle extraordinarily difficult or life-threatening criminal situations, such as terrorism

Terrorism

Terrorism is the systematic use of terror, especially as a means of coercion. In the international community, however, terrorism has no universally agreed, legally binding, criminal law definition...

, hostage situations, and kidnapping

Kidnapping

In criminal law, kidnapping is the taking away or transportation of a person against that person's will, usually to hold the person in false imprisonment, a confinement without legal authority...

. It also deals with emergency rescue situations that would be too dangerous for others to handle. The AKS holds responsibility for all anti-terror and counter-terrorism missions in Denmark. It is known that AKS cross-trains with the army

Royal Danish Army

The Royal Danish Army is the land warfare branch of the Danish Defence Forces, together with the Danish Home Guard.For the last decade, the Royal Danish Army has undergone a massive transformation of structures, equipment and training methods, abandoning its traditional role of anti-invasion...

 and navy

Royal Danish Navy

The Royal Danish Navy is the sea-based branch of the Danish Defence force. The RDN is mainly responsible for maritime defence and maintaining the sovereignty of Danish, Greenlandic and Faroese territorial waters...

 elite-units Jægerkorpset

Jægerkorpset

The Jaeger Corps is the special forces unit of the Royal Danish Army stationed at Aalborg Air Base.-Insignia and status :Jægerkorpset wears the maroon beret with a brass emblem depicting a hunter's bugle on a black felt liner. The beret is issued after completion of an 16 week selection...

 and Frømandskorpset

Danish Frogman Corps

The Danish Frogman Corps is an elite special forces frogman corps in the Royal Danish Navy.This corps was set up on June 17, 1957 based on the model of the British SBS...

.

Duties

• Counter sniper operation.
• Forced entrance operations.
• Apprehension of armed suspects.
• Apprehension of barricaded suspects.
• Force protection during deployment.

History

The unit's operational functions are closely guarded secrets, so not much is known. What has been published is that the unit was created just after the Munich Summer Olympic incident in 1972.

In 1998 the unit was re-organized to include a fixed force of roughly 100 police officers; it previously "borrowed" officers from regular units on an as needed basis.
The Unit is supposed to be transferred to the responsibility of the Danish Security Intelligence Service

Politiets Efterretningstjeneste

Politiets Efterretningstjeneste is the national security intelligence agency of Denmark...

.

AKS led the operation of clearing and evicting the anarchist and leftist groups from Ungdomshuset

Ungdomshuset

Ungdomshuset was the popular name of the building formally named Folkets Hus located on Jagtvej 69 in Nørrebro, Copenhagen, which functioned as an underground scene venue for music and rendezvous point for varying autonomen and leftist groups from 1982 until 2007 when—after prolonged conflict—it...

 on March 1, 2007.

AKS is led by Rigspolitiet

Rigspolitiet

Rigspolitiet is the state national police force of Denmark. Administered by a framework of laws dictated by the Folketing and the government's Minister for Justice, Rigspolitiet polices all regions governed by Denmark, including the Faroe Islands and Greenland.-Leadership:Rigspolitiet is...

, but soon it will be under PET

Politiets Efterretningstjeneste

Politiets Efterretningstjeneste is the national security intelligence agency of Denmark...

.