Martin Wittrup Enggaard has spent his career inside Copenhagen Police's most sensitive cases—the ones that haunt communities for decades. As a homicide investigator (drabsefterforsker) specializing in cold cases and serious violent crime, he represents a new generation of Danish law enforcement willing to challenge convention in pursuit of justice.

Enggaard joined Copenhagen Police in 2008 and became an investigator four years later. By 2014, he had moved into the department for personfarlig kriminalitet—serious violent crime—where he would focus on DNA analysis and case management. But it was a single idea that would define his career.

**The Proposal That Changed Everything**

In June 2022, Enggaard initiated a borgerforslag—a citizen's proposal in Denmark's direct democracy system—that would permit police to use genetic genealogy in homicide and serious violent crime investigations. The tool had already revolutionized cold case work in countries like the United States, but Denmark had remained cautious about its adoption.

The proposal resonated. Over 50,000 Danish citizens threw their support behind it, signaling public appetite for new investigative methods when traditional approaches had reached their limits. On April 18, 2023, the Danish Parliament (Folketinget) passed the measure into law.

For victims' families and unsolved cases gathering dust in police archives, the decision was transformative. Genetic genealogy uses DNA from crime scenes to build family trees, identifying suspects through shared ancestry rather than direct database matches. It had already cracked decades-old cases across Europe and North America.

**Beyond the Badge**

Enggaard's influence extends beyond investigative methodology. He has become a public voice for Danish true crime, appearing on platforms like the "Danske Drabssager" podcast in a special episode titled "Mød true crime-eksperterne: Martin Wittrup Enggaard" (Season 14, Episode 10, April 2026). In these appearances, he brings the perspective of someone who works daily with Denmark's most complex unsolved homicides.

He has also published a poetry collection that captures the raw reality of police culture and the toll of serious crime work. While the collection is not autobiographical, it reflects his deep immersion in an investigative world most people never witness.

What defines Enggaard's approach is his emphasis on victims. In cold case investigations, where leads have gone dormant and media attention has faded, maintaining focus on those who were killed—and their families—becomes an ethical imperative. Enggaard has positioned victim advocacy at the center of his work.

**A Scandinavian Shift**

Enggaard's push for genetic genealogy reflects broader changes in European policing. As DNA technology evolves and privacy frameworks adapt, investigators are moving toward tools once considered experimental. Denmark's approval, driven largely by Enggaard's grassroots advocacy, signals that even traditionally cautious Nordic countries recognize the potential of these methods when properly regulated.

The success of his citizen proposal demonstrates something often overlooked: that law enforcement reform can come from inside the system, championed by investigators who understand both the investigative need and the privacy concerns.

Today, Enggaard continues his work at Copenhagen Police, navigating the intersection of innovation, cold cases, and victim focus. His career illustrates how individual initiative within professional structures can reshape national policy—and how a single investigator's conviction that something needs to change can ultimately reach Parliament.

**Sources**

https://dansk-politi.dk/nyheder/drabsefterforsker-udgiver-politiets-raa-virkelighed-paa-vers

https://podcasts.apple.com/dk/podcast/møt-true-crime-eksperterne-martin-wittrup-enggaard/id1472183999?i=1000760131005

https://www.fof.dk/aftenskolen/fof-koebenhavn-og-nordsjaelland/faeldet-af-dna-og-slaegtsforskning

https://radioplay.dk/podcast/danske-drabssager/id-2330577

https://www.instagram.com/martinwenggaard/