NEWS PUBLISHED ON THE OMBUDSMAN’S WEBSITE IN 2017 6 March 29 March Police processing times following re­ organisations were unreasonably long Municipality made significant errors in relation to use of door alarms in residential facility A large number of citizens were affected after the police force gathered the processing of certain A door alarm can be an important safeguard cases, such as cases concerning driving licences, against people with impaired mental functioning at two administrative centres. From the start, the leaving the facility in which they live and poten­ reorganisation resulted in a substantial build-up of tially exposing themselves or others to injury. cases and an increase in processing times. (...) But a door alarm also constitutes a restriction on ... ‘When an authority is reorganised, processing times will often increase. In certain circumstances, this may be considered acceptable for a relatively short period of time. However, a period of over two years, as in the case of the two administrative centres, is much too long’, the Parliamentary Om­ budsman, Jørgen Steen Sørensen, states. 9 March Significant improvements in Green­ land police detention facilities The safety of persons placed in Greenland police detention facilities which are not permanently staffed has been significantly improved. However, some aspects of their safety still give cause for concern, the Ombudsman concludes following ex­ tensive dialogue with the responsible authorities. 23 March Illegal to separate all young asylumseeking couples against their will In February 2016, the Ministry of Immigration, Inte­ gration and Housing issued an instruction that no asylum seekers under 18 years of age were to be permitted to be accommodated in Danish asylum centres together with a spouse or cohabitee. That instruction was contrary both to Danish law and to international conventions, the Parliamen­ tary Ombudsman concludes. the freedom of the individual, and a number of statutory requirements must be met before a mu­ nicipality installs an alarm. This is emphasised by the Ombudsman, who became aware of significant errors in relation to the use of door alarms in con­ nection with a monitoring visit. 31 March Security and Intelligence Service complied with the rules when ar­ chiving well-known writer’s diaries Since 1982, the Danish Security and Intelligence Service (PET) has kept a copy of a well-known Danish writer’s diaries. After investigating the matter, the Ombudsman concludes that he has no grounds for criticising the Ministry of Justice and PET. 4 April Current legislation does not secure private school pupils’ right to be heard The Ministry of Education will seek to gain Parlia­ ment’s support for a legislative change if dialogue and guidance prove not to be sufficient to secure the right of private and continuation school pupils under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child to be heard. The Ombudsman has previously recommended that the Ministry consider legislation to effectively secure the pupils’ rights in this respect. 123