Hard Brexit will put the British public at “significant risk”, a damning warning from police chiefs has revealed.
Top figures from across the country sounded the alarm as a Cabinet minister said a no-deal Brexit is now more likely than not.
That has led to fears Britain will suddenly lose access to valuable EU crime databases at 11pm on Brexit Day, 29 March 2019.
The Association of Police and Crime Commissioners (APCC) wrote to Home Secretary Sajid Javid: “We understand that considerable additional resource would be required for policing to operate using non-EU tools and that such tools would be sub-optimal – potentially putting operational efficiency and public safety at risk.”
EU negotiator Michel Barnier already warned two months ago that Britain could be locked out of accessing EU databases and barred from taking part in the European Arrest Warrant.
Ex-Brexit Secretary David Davis warned himself that police “may no longer be able to protect the public” if they could not access the European Criminal Records Information System.
And the European Arrest Warrant has helped extradite more than 10,000 criminals since 2004.
The police commissioners – who say they have consulted with the National Crime Agency and National Police Chiefs’ Council – asked Mr Javid to confirm the Home Office has developed a contingency plan for no deal.
The police chiefs also state the Brexit negotiations come at a time when the in-country threat from foreign national offenders targeting the UK from abroad is increasing, and when international co-operation is a key element of the fight against crime.