The UK will no longer have access to the Schengen Information System (SIS II), used extensively, before Brexit, by UK law enforcement agencies to obtain real-time information about the movement of criminals, missing persons and objects of interest. Moreover, the system those agencies will use instead, the Interpol I-24/7 database, does not yet provide them with the same information at the same speed – Interpol provides data in a matter of hours, not seconds. So says the House of Lords’s European Union Security and Justice Sub-Committee, part of the European Union Committee, in a report, ‘Beyond Brexit: policing, law enforcement and security’.
Besides, the Interpol I-24/7 database as a substitute for the Schengen Information System depends heavily on EU states accepting the extra workload of ‘double-keying’ data into both systems.
The committee did congratulate the UK Government for securing an agreement whereby criminal records data will be shared with the EU on a very similar basis to that which applied when the UK had access to the European Criminal Records information Service (ECRIS). Although the Government did sign the Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) on December 24 on the eve of the UK’s leaving the EU, it’s still early days, the committee warns. For one thing, the UK’s data protection regime could be challenged in the courts, and if the UK chooses not to stay aligned with EU data protection rules, agreements could be ended. It remains to be seen what is the operational effectiveness of the extradition arrangements, which replace the European Arrest Warrant.
The report notes that the UK has an agreement to continue its involvement with the EU’s policing and justice agencies Europol and Eurojust that reflects its status as a country outside the EU, but with a continuing close relationship on law enforcement and criminal justice. It is similar to arrangements agreed with countries such as the USA and Canada. As a result, the UK will continue to share data and expertise, but no longer have a role in the overall management of those agencies.
