Free trip in Tivoli for citizens' money

The Danish government is constantly having good plans in progress according to themselves, and now their plan with a cultural pass has received attention.

The government's disputed cultural pass has sparked debate, after new figures show that a significant part of the target group has a spotted criminal record.

The cultural pass, which gives DKK 2000 to young people without jobs or education for use in cultural experiences, is intended to get more people into the community.

Now a new response to the Folketing's Legal Committee shows that 6.5 percent of potential recipients have served a prison sentence.

Minister of Employment Ane Halsboe-Jørgensen (S) states that 2800 people in the target group have been behind bars.

Overall, 20 percent have either a verdict or charge behind them, and among them, more than 6,000 have been involved in property crimes, while nearly 4,000 have been convicted or charged with violence.

Also, cases of euphoric drugs, gun law violations and sexual offenses occur in statistics.

For the Danish Democrats' mayor, Betina Kastbjerg, the figures are strongly problematic. « There are some violence and sex offenders who laugh their ass in laser over this. They have even committed very serious crime, and then the government rewards them with a trip in Tivoli, » she tells Extra Bladet.

According to her, it is a paradox that the government is talking about harsher penalties for criminal youth, while the cultural pass in her eyes sends a completely different signal.