Government paper warns of post-Brexit cross-border crime challenges
Cross-border crime will present “complex and far-reaching” challenges to Scotland’s police and prosecutors after Brexit, a new Scottish Government paper claims.
Scotland’s Place in Europe: Security, Judicial Co-operation and Law Enforcement, part of a series covering "Scotland’s Place in Europe", details the impact of withdrawing from the EU’s cross-border security, law enforcement and criminal justice co-operation measures without putting effective substitute arrangements in place.
To date, it alleges, discussions in the Joint Ministerial Committee on EU Negotiations, established to provide a means for the devolved administrations to be fully engaged in the UK Government’s approach to Brexit, have "fallen short of the ambition set out in its terms of reference, and of the Prime Minister’s own commitment to 'full involvement' of the devolved administrations and have singularly failed to meet the forum’s terms of reference".
The paper sets out the Scottish Government’s view on the importance of protecting access to measures such as Europol, the European arrest warrant, the computerised systemn for sharing informariton on criminal records, and the Schengen information system II (which facilitates real-time alerts on wanted or missing persons as well as stolen or missing property) as part of the UK and EU negotiations – and of Scotland's law enforcement agencies maintaining direct links with their EU counterparts.
Further EU measures include participation in Eurojust, which facilitates judicial co-operation between member states, for example through joint investigation teams to conduct joint searches and gather evidence in accordance with each country’s rules; and the European protection order, which grants victims the same protection from their aggressor across member states.
Lord Advocate James Wolffe QC stressed the importance, in the negotiations between the UK and the EU, of agreeing "effective arrangements... which maintain our collective capability for tackling crime and keeping our citizens safe".
Justice Secretary Michael Matheson commented: "From cybercrime, to human trafficking and terrorism, international crime has never respected borders. Over the years Scotland’s police and prosecution services have built strong links with their EU counterparts to help keep people safe.
"Withdrawal from the current regime of co-operation, including for example the European arrest warrant system, could mean returning to a more fragmented system of seeking assistance across borders. We risk being left behind as our European counterparts develop more effective tools to deal with present and future threats.
"Though we would prefer not to be leaving the EU, the Scottish Government stands ready to play a constructive role in exploring solutions. Our independent justice system means Scotland’s voice must be heard and we continue to push the UK Government for real and meaningful input into the negotiations with the EU."