What impact will Brexit have on police in the UK?
Analysis: As British law enforcement faces losing access to all EU databases, Lizzie Dearden looks at the impact of Brexit on domestic policing
EU databases have become so integral to British policing that most officers are using them on a daily basis without even realising.
When police search for a suspect’s history on the Police National Computer, their equipment automatically scans the EU-wide Schengen Information System (SIS II) database at the same time – currently amounting to 539 million searches a year.
But if the UK leaves the EU without a deal on 29 March, that system and several others will instantly be switched off.
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