Crime agency warning over post-Brexit security
- Published
The National Crime Agency says it is concerned about the potential loss of access to Europol
Hundreds of cross-border investigations will have to be reorganised if the UK crashes out of the EU's key security agency - Europol - the National Crime Agency (NCA) has warned MPs.
Letters published on Tuesday reveal growing concern among UK police chiefs.
They said the fight against international crime will be slowed if the UK loses access to EU tools.
The government said the UK would continue to be a "global leader on security".
But Labour MP Yvette Cooper described the warnings as "extremely serious and troubling".
The NCA said the potential loss of access to Europol was the area "we are most concerned about".
The National Police Chiefs Council (NPCC) predicted there will be a major impact on operations if the UK cannot negotiate a date to retain access to databases that play a pivotal role in uncovering criminals on the move.
In the NCA's letter to MPs, external, its director of operations - Steve Rodhouse - said the agency makes "extensive use" of Europol's "significant and unique capabilities".
"The potential loss of access to Europol in a 'Non Negotiated Outcome' is the tool area we are most concerned about from a serious organised crime perspective," he wrote.
If the UK were locked out of Europol - where investigators from around the continent work together - the NCA would have to transfer "several hundred" on-going investigations over to one-to-one deals with specific police forces.
"The multilateral coordination and specialist analytical services offered by Europol cannot be replicated through bilateral channels," Mr Rodhouse wrote.
"Information exchange will be slower, more labour-intensive, and opportunities to identify new intelligence leads could be diminished without access to the extensive data held [by Europol]."
'Major operational impact'
An accompanying letter from the NPCC, external, warns of other damage to crime-fighting.
If there is no deal on data-sharing, the UK will be removed from the Schengen Information System (SIS II). This is an automated database that instantly shares police alerts across borders, without individual forces having to actively contact their counterparts in other countries.
"This loss will have a major operational impact," NPCC president Martin Hewitt said.
"SIS II is currently aligned to national systems - meaning that anyone circulated as wanted or missing automatically can be seen by 27 EU member states."
The fallback of sending requests via Interpol would be "slower" and entirely dependent on EU police forces taking steps to share the information in the first place.
"Because of the differences between SIS II and Interpol, forces will circulate far fewer [alerts]," he predicted.
'Very troubling'
Turning to other tools, the NPCC said that without a legal agreement, it could not see how EU member states could continue to share detailed data on the movement of air passengers.
"An inability to access Passenger Name Records [between police forces] would have a major impact for counter-terrorism and serious and organised crime-related matters," Mr Hewitt said.
And loss of access to another database - which provides swift access to DNA held across Europe - would also have a "major operational impact".
Ms Cooper, who chairs the Commons Home Affairs Committee, said: "These are extremely serious and frankly very troubling letters from the country's senior police officers.
"They make clear that without a negotiated outcome the UK authorities will lose the ability to use a wide range of law enforcement tools with a major operational impact on policing and security.
"But their letters also suggest that the police expect us to lose important security capabilities... even in the expected negotiated outcome.
"Cabinet Minister Michael Gove told Parliament in response to a question from Theresa May that the UK would be able to 'intensify our security' even in the event of no deal, yet these letters tell the opposite story."
A government spokesperson said: "We are focused on reaching an agreement with the EU and there is a good degree of convergence in what the UK and EU are seeking to negotiate in terms of operational capabilities.
"In the event that it is not possible to reach an agreement, we have well-developed and well-rehearsed plans in place."
- Published20 October 2020
