The Association of Chief Police Officers - Parliament

Association of Chief Police Officers –Written evidence4.5 SIS does not require the EAW to operate. It can in theory operate with anotherextradition system but it would be far less effective by not having the EAW. One ofthe biggest benefits of SIS is that real time wanted alerts are loaded immediately ontothe central database. If we did not have the EAW process in place then we wouldreceive the information that the person stopped by police is wanted for a seriousoffence abroad but be unable to deal with it. Inclusion of the EAW in the SIS processis designed to allow for an instant arrest. A position not possible with any non-EAWextradition arrangements at present.4.5.1 For all of these reasons, the view of UK policing is that SIS is a vital measure that theUK are already heavily committed to and as such it is vital that we opt back into it.4.6 The Exchange of Criminal Records4.6.1 Two TPMs deal with the exchange and use of criminal records within criminal justicesystems of member states - 2008/675/JHA and 2009/315/JHA. These measures seekto ensure that a conviction in one state is given the same weight in all. So for instanceif a person from Poland is convicted of burglary in the UK and it is discovered that hehas 12 convictions across the EU for burglary, the UK courts must treat these 12convictions as they would for UK matters when it comes to bad character andsentencing.4.6.2 In addition, they provide a mechanism by which these convictions can be quicklyobtained. Since this came into force in the UK as a result of the Coroners and JusticeAct 2009, progress has been swift. At the inception of this Act, the MPS conductedthree pilots into the effectiveness of this new measure 3 .4.6.3 The result of these pilots have been widely circulated in both the UK and the EU andgenerally show that in London, around 35% of foreign nationals have convictionsabroad and around 8% are wanted in their home countries. These wanted suspectsare not circulated via an EAW simply because the state that wants them did notknow that they were in England. It is solely by confirming their identification, througha criminal records request, that their offending history is established. It thereforeallows the removal of dangerous criminals from the UK who were otherwise free toremain at large.4.6.4 This has huge ramifications for policing in the UK in terms of bail, charging decisions,public safety, extradition, the trial, sentencing and deportation. The importancecannot be overstated.4.6.5 Two years ago when these measures came into force, the results took around aweek to obtain. Although not ideal this was a vast improvement over the manymonths it used to take. However, with more and more countries now coming on-linewith this system, the results - while not yet instant - can certainly be obtained fromsome countries within a few hours. Easily quick enough to greatly assist while thesuspect is under arrest and in police detention.3 Commonly referred to as the Harrow Pilot, the Newham pilot and the five borough pilot12