Police chief in no-deal dangers warning
A NO-DEAL Brexit will make it harder for police to protect UK citizens as forces fall back on “slower, more bureaucratic” systems, one of the country’s most senior officers has warned.
If the country leaves the EU with no deal in March, police operations including the major investigation into the Novichok poisoning could be affected.
European Arrest Warrants (EAWs) have been issued for the two Russians suspected of the Salisbury poisoning, meaning that if they enter Europe they should be arrested.
But UK law enforcement would lose access to the power if no deal is secured, and police would be forced to fall back on 1957 extradition legislation that does not cover all countries. Around 20 states that use EAWs are not covered by the convention.
Sara Thornton, chair of the National Police Chiefs’ Council spoke as plans were unveiled for a police no deal planning unit.
She said: “The fallbacks we’re going to have to use will be slower, will be more bureaucratic and it will make it harder for us to protect UK citizens and make it harder to protect EU citizens.
“We are determined to do everything we can to mitigate that, but it will be hard.”
There are 40 tools that UK law enforcement may lose access to, including the European Arrest Warrant and the Schengen Information System, an intelligence database that was accessed 539 million times last year by the UK.
It will take 66 days to check if foreigners have criminal convictions in the event of no deal, compared to six currently.