ACPO’s Assessment of the Impactof a UK Opt-out of EU Third Pillar

Criminal Law and Policing MeasuresUnder the Lisbon Treaty

Date Arial 14pt

Commander Allan Gibson QPM

ACPO Lead on Extradition and Mutual Legal Assistance

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Crime & criminals in the 21st Century

• Organised

• Highly mobile

• Transnational

• Technologically enabled

• Resourceful

• Adaptive

• Opportunistic

• Exploitative

• Collaborative

• Prepared to use violence

• Well-financed

• Forensically aware

• Use of false identities

• Aware of police methods

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The international aspects of crime in London – a few statistics

• Q1 2012 – MPS arrested 61,939 people

• 8,089 were nationals from EU countries (13%)

• 9,358 were nationals from non-EU countries (15%)

• 2009 pilot in Harrow showed that 10% of foreign national offenders arrested during a 24 hour period across 5 custody suites turned out to be wanted, detainable or deportable for offences abroad

• FNOs present a significant risk to community safety

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Tackling 21st century criminals

• Imperative to have fast and efficient law enforcement and criminal justice collaboration and instruments– Locate and identify criminals

– Jointly tackle organised criminal groups operating across national boundaries

– Mutual legal assistance re obtaining enquiries, gathering evidence, building cases

– Arrest & bring to justice those suspected of committing crimes

– Recover proceeds of crime

• Free movement of European nationals across borders is a reality. We can't rely on 20th century models of international cooperation to deal with 21st century crime and criminals

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ACPO’s Position on the EAW

• “The EAW is the most important of the all the Third Pillar Measures”

• ACPO believes “that opting out of the EAW and relying on alternative arrangements would result in fewer extraditions, longer delays, higher costs, more offenders evading justice and increased risk to public safety”

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Examples

• Pre-EAW: 4/11/95 Rachid Ramda, an Algerian, arrested in UK re

a terrorist attack in Paris. France sought extradition. Completed in

2005. Detained in UK prisons. Sentenced to 10 years in March

2006

• Post-EAW: Hussein Osman identifed as suspect for 21/7/05 failed

bomb attack at Hammersmith Tube Station. UK sought extradition

from Italy. He was extradited to the UK in September 2005.

Convicted in 2007 and sentenced to 40 years imprisonment.

• Part 2 Example: Abu Hamza, USA apply for extradition in May

2004 re offences of kidnapping in Yemen in 1998. Extradition

completed in October 2012. Cost to British taxpayer estimated to

be in excess of £3m.

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EAWs – trend data

Year EAW requests

received by UK

Surrenders from UK

(UK nationals)

EAW requests

issued by the UK

Surrenders to

the UK

2006/7 3315 178

(26, (14%))

146 84

2007/8 2483 415

(27, (7%))

182 107

2008/9 3526 516

(35, (7%))

257 88

2009/10 4100 699

(41, (6%))

203 71

2010/11 5382 1149 221 93

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EAWs Around 1500 arrests per annum within England & Wales.

• The vast majority are foreign nationals wanted abroad, small percentage are UK citizens.

Last year, in London, the MPS received EAWs for: Homicide x 50

Rape x 20

Robbery x 90

Human Trafficking x 35

Burglary x 40

Drugs Offences x 180

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Incoming Case Study• Paulius ANIULIS, dob 02/01/1990 wanted in

Lithuania for GBH -

• This EAW was certified by SOCA on 11/12/2011 and sent to the MPS on 12/12/2011.

• The warrant related to an unprovoked GBH with intent on a lone male who sustained serious injuries. Intelligence was completed and located a potential match. On 16/12/2011 the fugitive was located in Barking, London, arrested and remanded in custody. He was extradited back to Lithuania on 06/01/2012.

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Incoming Case Study

• Arunas CERVINSKAS, dob 11/02/1980 wanted in Eire for Rape -

• This EAW was certified by SOCA on 23/11/2011 and sent to the MPS on 24/11/2011.

• The warrant related to a stranger rape on an under 18 female. Intelligence indicated an address in Plaistow. Further ID material was requested from Eire and this was received on 26/11/2011. On 28/11/2011 the fugitive was located, arrested and remanded in custody. He was extradited to Eire on 14/12/2011.

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Outgoing Case Study

Jason McKay, London Borough of Hammersmith.

• 0n 3/2/12, murdered his girlfriend by means of strangulation.

• 10/2/12, walked in to police station in Warsaw and confessed. Taken into custody

• At this stage the murder was not known to police. MPS attended the address and found the body

• EAW issued by UK authorities and executed by the Poles on 11/2/12

• McKay was returned to UK on 23/2/12

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Joint investigation teams

• Enables evidence to be easily admissible in EU member states

• Full extent of criminality can be uncovered• Increases effectiveness in tackling organised criminal groups• Identification of linked series across Europe improved• Community safety enhanced in the UK

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JIT Examples

• Op Veerde – collaboration UK & Czech Republic into human trafficking,

prostitution & rape of young women brought to the UK by OCN. 33

victims were located in CR. JIT enabled efficient evidence gathering in

both countries. 9 suspects indicted in England on behalf of both states

and convicted

• Op Golf – JIT between Metropolitan Police and the Romanian National

Pollice. One part of the operation was to tackle a Romanian gang that

was trafficking children into the UK for the commission of crime. It

resulted in the arrest of 126 suspects for a wide range of offences. These

offences included human trafficking, benefit fraud, theft, money

laundering and child neglect. 272 trafficking victims identified.

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Recognition of criminal convictions

• EU criminal convictions admissible in UK proceedings

• Enables cross checking of arrested persons (ECRIS)

• 28% of all persons arrested in London daily are foreign nationals

• Full recognition of previous criminality when sentencing, harmful and dangerous criminals are sent to prison for longer

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Exchange of Criminal Records Case Studies

• Since 2006 UKCA-ECR has received >500 notifications of UK nationals

convicted in other EU states of sex offences. Now being managed in UK

within the sex offender management system

• Romanian national arrested in London for rape x 2. Request for

conviction data revealed he had a previous conviction for rape in

Romania. Successful application to use this conviction as bad character

evidence and led to conviction. Prosecution counsel firmly of view this

was critical to the conviction.

• 2010, 2 brothers arrested for rape. FPs & DNA sent to Lithuania for

checking. One brother had conviction for murder. Other wanted there for

rape (not an EAW). Similar fact evidence used to convict brother 1. EAW

issued for brother 2 and later convicted for rape. 2 TPMs used.

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Schengen Information System• SIS2 will enable all participating states to share real-time

information on persons and objects of interest to law enforcement

via a series of alerts made available via police national computer

systems

• Benefits:

– Reduced criminality, better screening of criminals at the

borders

– Greater identity assurance at the border

– Improved public & law enforcement officer protection

– Improved judicial & police cooperation

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Europol• Thousands of intelligence reports passed via Europol

• 'Analysis work files' – strategically and tactically analysing cross border crime in Europe using intelligence feeds from member states

• Fast-time exchange of information regarding organised criminals operation cross border

• Supported over 50 cross border investigations in the past year alone

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Key considerations• The trans-national nature of modern crime

• The importance of the instruments to law enforcement and

prosecutors

• The efficiency and effectiveness of the instruments and how that

compares with the fall back alternatives

• The high number of European nationals who are wanted or are

committing crime in the UK and the importance of being able to deal

with them effectively

• Impact on community safety