Security co-operation with EU key to public safety, police chief
PUBLIC SAFETY could be put at risk if security co-operation with the European Union is weakened by Brexit, Britain’s most senior police officer has warned.
Metropolitan Police Commissioner Cressida Dick said she hopes police will have “as much as possible of the instruments” they currently have, such as database access, or something very similar as quickly as possible after Brexit.
She added there would be cost and public safety consequences of having to replace such systems.
Prime Minister Theresa May has insisted that her Brexit deal protects security, yet those reassurances have not stopped MPs from raising concerns about the UK’s level of access to European security measures.
Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Ms Dick said: “If we come out without immediately obvious replacements for those
instruments, that will undoubtedly mean we will have to work incredibly hard on a bilateral basis with countries to try to get in place some kind of way of working together.”
Ms Dick said talks were ongoing, adding: “We’ve set up an EU co-ordination unit, absolutely.
“That is to help local forces to understand to how to work most effectively across Europe after we exit the EU, under whatever circumstances.
“Of course, we would hope we will have as much as possible of the instruments we currently have or something very similar as quickly as possible in order to be able to keep our public safe and at the same sort of cost.”
Told she was suggesting the consequences of not having such a situation would mean the UK is less safe, Ms Dick replied: “The consequences are that we will have to replace... some of the things we currently use in terms of access to databases, the way in which we can quickly arrest and extradite people, these kind of things, we will have to replace as effectively as we can.
“That will be more costly undoubtedly, slower undoubtedly, and potentially yes, put the public at risk - no doubt about that.”