Police drawing up contingency plans amid Brexit uncertainty

Police Scotland has begun drawing up Brexit contingencies including meeting with eastern European forces and joining a new Uk-wide unit which will seek to mitigate the effects of losing access to an EU arrest warrant.

Chief Constable Iain Livingstone said his officers had travelled to Slovakia, Romania and Poland to stress the importance of continuing partnerships after Brexit.

His force has also joined a recently established Uk-wide police unit which will aim to support investigations if – as expected – Britain drops out of the European Arrest Warrant and Europol.

In a report provided for the Scottish Police Authority, he said: “Our preparations for policing post-brexit are ongoing. A dedicated team within 0 Iain Livingstone met with all UK chief constables

Police Scotland continues to engage with both the UK and Scottish Governments, assisting with preparation plans and contributing to proposed processes for maintaining the safety and security of our communities.

“Officers from Police Scotland have travelled to countries such as Slovakia, Romania and Poland to ensure law enforcement in these countries are reassured on the importance we place in partnership working with them post-march 2019.”

Mr Livingstone said he attended an extraordinary meeting of all UK chief constables last week to discuss Brexit contingency plans. He said: “It was agreed by all chief constables to establish a new national unit that will assist police forces across the UK if we lose access to current EU data sharing and co-operation tools, such as the European Arrest Warrant or Europol.”

Earlier this month, Lord Advocate James Wolffe warned that a no-deal Brexit will make it harder to extradite criminals who flee Scotland.

Security arrangements with the EU post-brexit are yet to be resolved, but EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier has said Britain will no longer be able to use the European Arrest Warrant.