APCC welcomes agreement reached between UK Government and the EU
The APCC EU-Exit Working Group has welcomed the agreement reached between the UK Government and the European Union, which ensures that most existing law enforcement tools and mechanisms will be retained after the transition period ends on 31 December 2020.
Matthew Scott, Police and Crime Commissioner for Kent, said:
"It is excellent news that we have an agreement in place that has been supported in Parliament. It will give policing the certainty on the tools that are retained and what changes will need to be made to working arrangements. It will still be possible to keep our citizens safe, bring people to justice, and deal with any issues at our borders."
Lord Willy Bach, Police and Crime Commissioner for Leicestershire, said:
"Policing has known all along that whatever emerged in the final deal, it was always going to be inferior to the pre-Brexit arrangements. Fighting crime in Britain will be made more difficult by losing the European Arrest Warrant and live access to information held on the SIS II database. The alternatives are slower, more complicated, and less reliable. But there have been some successes. For example, forces will not be losing access to the criminal records information included within airports’ Passenger Name Records. I am most relieved that this capability is covered in the deal."
Martyn Underhill, Police and Crime Commissioner for Dorset, said:
“This deal is better than was expected. Although Britain has lost certain security information avenues, it has retained its sovereignty and many facilities that will help keep us safe."
Notes for editors
The APCC EU-Exit Working Group was established in 2018 to prepare Police and Crime Commissioners and police forces for changes to policing and law enforcement.