Written evidence – Police Service of Northern Ireland (BUI0015)
Whilst leaving the European Union means the United Kingdom (and thus the Police Service of Northern Ireland) will cease to be a part of a number of EU Justice and Home Office measures, which are designed to offer close and speedy co-operation with European Union member states, I remain optimistic for the partnerships between the Police Service of Northern Ireland, An Garda Síochána and the wider law enforcement community.
The relationship between the Police Service of Northern Ireland and An Garda Síochána has never been better.
The Commissioner and I are committed to tackling harm across the island of Ireland and the location of any vulnerable person, victim or offender is immaterial. We work together to prevent crime, protect the vulnerable and detect those who commit crime.
Along with Tánaiste and the NI Minister of Justice, we recently hosted the 14th Annual Cross Border Organised Crime Seminar in Enniskillen. This provided an invaluable opportunity for law enforcement agencies to discuss potential impediments to the fight against organised criminals. The second version of the Cross Border Policing Strategy was introduced at this seminar, updating the inaugural strategy introduced in 2010. The Cross Border Policing strategy allows for the co-ordination of joint policing activity in critical areas such as community policing, rural policing, intelligence sharing and emergency planning. Work in these and related areas will contribute towards improving public safety in all parts of this island and play a major part in disrupting criminal activity.
Accompanying this seminar was the launch of the Seventh Biennial Cross Border Organised Crime Threat Assessment, which provides an insight into organised criminality on both sides of the border. Trends and developments across both jurisdictions are compared, in an effort to highlight similarities and differences in the threat posed by certain areas of criminal activity.
In November 2015, the British and Irish Governments and the Northern Ireland Executive agreed a series of measures in A Fresh Start, The Stormont Agreement and Implementation Plan. This saw the introduction of a new Cross Border Joint Agency Task Force. The Joint Agency Task Force is led by senior officers from the Police Service of Northern Ireland, An Garda Síochána, the Revenue Commissioners and HM Revenue and Customs. A number of other organisations, including the National Crime Agency and the Criminal Assets Bureau are also involved in operational activity. The Task Force has already met on multiple occasions and agreed upon a number of areas of organised criminality, which have received focused attention over the last six months. The Joint Agency Task Force enhances and strengthens further the established working relationships between law enforcement agencies north and south. Continued cross border co-operation is key to the fight against organised crime in Ireland.
Co-operation exists at every level between our organisations, from Counter Terrorism to Road Safety, from illegal Drug Importation to Rural Crime and across Immigration and Tax Avoidance. Brexit will not adversely affect our deep and embedded culture of co-operation.
However, there are legislative implications arising from the Brexit decision which require consideration in the interests of our communities on these islands.
The Police Service of Northern Ireland, like other UK law enforcement agencies makes extensive use of a number of European Union Justice and Home Affairs measures to provide a quicker, efficient and dynamic response to crime and criminality impacting the UK and its citizens. Many of these measures are used in a similar way to other agencies, for example, Joint Investigation Teams, International Letters of Request between EU countries and Anti-Money Laundering Directives. However, some measures have greater significance.
The open land border with Ireland means that there needs to be international legislation to allow the Police Service of Northern Ireland, An Gard Síochána and others to tackle effectively those who use the border to impair investigations and those who exploit differential legislation to commit crime. Key points to understanding our unique circumstance include;
The Common Travel Area (CTA) is a free movement area comprised of the UK, Ireland, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man. The CTA allows movement with minimal or non-existent border controls which provide a number of benefits such as economic growth through free movement of people and goods. However the CTA is open to exploitation by criminals, Organised Crime Gangs, illegal immigrants and extremists who can evade border controls and exploit these arrangements, aiding their criminality or illegal travel. The land border between Northern Ireland and Ireland is the only land border within the CTA and this border is completely open; therefore individuals can cross between Ireland and Northern Ireland without being stopped or any record of the travel having taken place. This is open to exploitation, aiding criminality and illegal travel.
There are major transport links between Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Three airports fly direct to Great Britain from Northern Ireland. There are large Sea Ports at Larne, Belfast and Warrenpoint, which carry significant quantities of freight and passenger numbers on a daily basis. Numerous small ports could also facilitate the movement of individuals.
Organised Crime Groups utilise the CTA to enable or enhance their criminality and to avoid detection by law enforcement agency partners. Criminality includes the smuggling of various illicit commodities including drugs, fuel, firearms, counterfeit and contraband cigarettes and alcohol.
The CTA has significant vulnerabilities which can be exploited to enter and exit the United Kingdom and Ireland.
There is significant interaction and relationships between Organised Crime Groups operating on both sides of the border and they often work together across a number of types of organised crime.
In the absence of European Legislation, there exists an “Agreement between the Government of Ireland and the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland on Police Co-operation”. However this treaty draws heavily on European Union developments to facilitate Joint Investigations.
The Police Service of Northern Ireland believes Brexit requires consideration and management of the following main risks
The loss of European Arrest Warrants will impact on the Police Service of Northern Ireland and An Garda Síochána’s ability to pursue those who use the land border to evade prosecution. This will affect Counter Terrorism, Serious/Organised Crime and Volume Crime. It will be essential that bilateral extradition procedures be introduced to close this issue off.
The threat in Northern Ireland from Dissident Republican terrorists is severe. The threat to Great Britain is substantial. Dissident Republican terrorists make extensive use of the border to frustrate pro-active and reactive Counter Terrorism investigations. Weapons, explosives, personnel and finance move between jurisdictions, in order that attacks can be conducted and the various groups can advance their aims.
Intelligence, operations and investigations are progressed jointly with An Garda Síochána to reduce the ability of the terrorists to exploit the border. European Arrest Warrants are frequently the conclusion of these efforts, which can take decades to achieve. The following case studies show how critical the European Arrest Warrant has been in tackling the terrorist threat.
Case Study 1 - On 17 February 2010, the Police Service of Northern Ireland conducted a search of individual A’s address; during the search items were uncovered and revealed that ‘A’ was collecting information that could be useful to terrorists. ‘A’ was arrested and interviewed and on the 18 February 2010, he was charged with three offences contrary to Section 58 of the Terrorism Act 2000. ‘A’ was remanded in custody by Newry Magistrates’ Court. On the 10 March 2010 he was granted High Court bail with conditions. He subsequently breached the terms of his bail and left the jurisdiction through the common travel area. On 1 December 2010 ‘A’ was arrested in County Louth, Ireland, with an improvised mortar. He was later tried and convicted in that jurisdiction for a number of offences. He received a five year custodial sentence in the Special Criminal Court, Dublin on 3 December 2010 for offences against the state involving firearms. In the interim, the Police Service of Northern Ireland was able to apply for a European Arrest Warrant and secured his return to Northern Ireland upon his release from prison in Ireland, on 1 May 2014. ‘A subsequently stood trial in Northern Ireland and was convicted on 19 September 2014 for Possession of documents likely to be useful to terrorists.
Case Study 2 - Following an anti-terrorist operation led by An Garda Síochána on the 8 August 2010, a couple of vehicles traveling in convoy were stopped near Dundalk, Ireland. Firearms, ammunitions and a large quantity of icing sugar (a component of HME) were subsequently recovered from both the vehicles and the addresses of the drivers and occupants. The five men involved were subsequently charged with Membership of an Unlawful Organisation (IRA) and Possession of Firearm and Ammunition. One of them, individual ‘B’ was further charged with the attempted murder of a member of An Garda Síochána on the 2 December 2009. On that occasion he deliberately rammed an An Garda Síochána patrol car after having failed to stop for Police. Individual ‘B’ would later be granted bail, but absconded from the jurisdiction to Northern Ireland before a trial date could be fixed. On 14th February 2012, a European Arrest Warrant was issued by the Irish authorities. The Police Service of Northern Ireland arrested individual ‘B’ on foot of the European Arrest Warrant on 24 March 2012 and extradited him back to Ireland on 27 March 2012. Following trial, he received a five years sentence.
As with terrorism, Organised Crime Groups utilise the CTA to enable or enhance their criminality and to avoid detection by law enforcement agency partners. Their criminality includes the smuggling of various illicit commodities including drugs, fuel, firearms, counterfeit and contraband cigarettes and alcohol.
The inherent nature of the haulage industry and the common practices used can be exploited by criminal hauliers to carry out their criminality. This can take the form of both organiser and/or facilitator, with reporting indicating varying degrees of involvement of Organised Crime Groups.
There is significant interaction and relationships between Organised Crime Groups operating on both sides of the border and they work together across a number of types of organised crime.
There has been a substantial increase in the number of foreign national Organised Crime Groups known to be involved in organised crime across Northern Ireland. The nationality of these Organised Crime Groups means they do not operate exclusively in Northern Ireland, but take advantage of the CTA to travel to Ireland and back to Europe on a regular basis. Principal members of some of these Organised Crime Groups reside in Ireland.
Whilst on bail for serious offences, some of these offenders who, whilst based in Ireland hail from Europe, attempt to avoid jail by fleeing Northern Ireland to Ireland and onward to mainland Europe.
European Arrest Warrants are thus the key to reducing the risk of flight, by demonstrating that offenders will be returned for trial.
The open nature of the border means that a significant number of investigations focus on residents from an alternative jurisdiction. People socialise, work and frequent their neighbouring area, as they do across police boundaries in England and Wales. European Arrest Warrants are vital to ensure that even low level criminality is tackled effectively across the jurisdictions as the following case studies show;
Case Study 1 – Burglary: From approximately April 2010, a large number of type burglaries occurred throughout Co Donegal, Londonderry City and Counties Londonderry and Tyrone. On occasions, vehicles were stolen from dwellings, following the burglary. On most occasions, personal property including laptops, mobile telephones, work tools and handbags were stolen. Some of the stolen cars were later found burnt out. Following a search at the address of one of the suspects, namely individual ‘C’ on 2 June 2010, the Police Service of Northern Ireland was able to recover a number of items that would connect him and his associates to those burglaries. ‘C’ was charged to Londonderry Magistrates Court on 3 June 2010 on a number of burglary and handling stolen goods offences. He was granted bail at Londonderry Magistrates Court on 20 April 2011 and subsequently fled the jurisdiction. Enquiries with An Garda Síochána revealed that ‘C’ had been arrested on 29 April 2011 in Co Donegal, Ireland for other similar offences (18 burglaries). He would later get three years custodial sentence for those matters. The Police Service of Northern Ireland obtained a European Arrest Warrant for ‘C’ on 26 July 2013. He was subsequently arrested in Ireland and extradited back to Northern Ireland on 15 August 2013. He later received a two years custodial sentence and probation for 18 months
Case Study 2 – Sexual: On the 1 April 2013, the Police Service of Northern Ireland‘s Child Abuse Investigation Unit commenced an investigation into a number of allegations of sexual abuse on children made against ‘D’. These allegations cover a period stretching from the mid-1980s to the present day. It was believed that ‘D’ fled his home address on 30 April 2013 when a mother was made aware of allegations made by her daughter. ‘D’ had never been spoken to by the Police Service of Northern Ireland about the aforementioned allegations. Police enquiries indicated that ‘D’ was living in Ireland. A prosecution file was submitted to the Public Prosecution Service for Northern Ireland and a direction to prosecute was issued for 24 offences on 24 September 2013. The Public Prosecution Service obtained a European Arrest Warrant for ‘D’ on the 10 July 2014. He was arrested in Ireland where he was living rough, in the vicinity of a local school in Limerick, on 19 September 2014. He was extradited to Northern Ireland on 22 October 2014 and subsequently received an eight year custodial sentence.
Case Study 3 – Traffic: Following the report of a one vehicle road traffic collision on the Sligo Road, Enniskillen, Northern Ireland on the 14 July 2009, the Police Service of Northern Ireland attended the scene and found the passenger in a critical condition. The driver, individual ‘E’, was also receiving medical treatment at the scene. The vehicle’s passenger had received 75% burns to his upper body and would remain in a coma for a month following the collision. ‘E’ was arrested at the scene for Dangerous Driving causing Grievous Bodily Injury, Excess Alcohol and No Insurance. He was charged to Enniskillen Magistrates’ Court on 15 July 2009 and was remanded in custody. On 17 July 2009 ‘E’ was granted High Court bail. He then failed to return to Court on 8 February 2010. Enquiries revealed that he had fled the jurisdiction and resettled in Lucan, Co Dublin. The Police Service of Northern Ireland obtained a European Arrest Warrant for ‘E’ on 23 May 2013. He was arrested in Ireland on 30 July 2013 and extradited to Northern Ireland on 3 January 2014. He was subsequently convicted.
The effect of the withdrawal of the European Arrest Warrant, without replacement, will be to encourage criminals to believe that they can escape justice by fleeing from one jurisdiction to another, which could lead to further abuse of the land border between the United Kingdom and Ireland.
Upon Brexit, the UK-Ireland border would represent an external border to the EU as a whole. There are no other ‘external’ EU borders that do not come with border controls. Any proposal regarding the introduction of border controls is unlikely to assist, because the myriad of minor roads and private lanes that cross the border could not be effectively policed. It is also likely to be used by Dissident Republican groups as a rationale for continuing violence.
The CTA precedes freedom of travel within the European Union. The implementation of Brexit does not directly impact on the CTA. However, should the Immigration and Taxation rules between the United Kingdom and Europe change significantly then there will be an increased risk from;
Already the Ireland/Northern Ireland to Great Britain route is well understood by Organised Crime Gangs involved in facilitating illegal immigration.
In Northern Ireland, Immigration Enforcement also has an important role to play in protecting our borders and working in partnership to strengthen the CTA, which is open to exploitation by illegal immigrants. Immigration Enforcement, the Police Service of Northern Ireland and Police Scotland work together under the heading of Operation Gull.
Operation Gull focuses on domestic United Kingdom flights and ferries into and out of Northern Ireland, in order to identify and arrest illegal immigrants going to and coming from Ireland by way of the land border. In 2015/16, 775 immigration offenders were intercepted attempting to abuse, or facilitate abuse, of Northern Ireland Ports as a means of illegal transit across the United Kingdom – an increase of 66% on 2014/15, including 73 criminals who had previously been deported from the UK and 30 foreign nationals with serious criminal convictions in the UK or abroad. More than 100 false documents were seized and 40 individuals involved in immigration crime were prosecuted.
This year to date, 343 offenders have been detected in Belfast Ports consisting of 47 different nationalities. At the Seaports, 182 foot passengers, five car passengers and one greeter were detected, 160 were departures and 27 arrivals (from Scotland) and 152 were male and 36 female. 182 offenders were removed from the United Kingdom with 85 being removed to Irish jurisdiction. A further 155 offenders were detected at our airports, with 113 at Belfast International and 42 at Belfast City, of these 126 were male and 29 were female.
Information sharing is key to our efforts to keep people safe through Ports Policing. In the European Union, the second generation of Schengen Information System (SISII) is used for law enforcement, immigration and border controls. It contains over 63 million alerts in relation to people and objects wanted for law enforcement purposes. It gives live time access, on the Police National Computer to all wanted/missing persons, stolen vehicles, persons sought for summons, all foreign fighters and all travelling sex offenders. On leaving the European Union, the Police Service of Northern Ireland will lose access to SISII, unless a separate agreement can be negotiated.
Ireland is not a signatory to Schengen and does not have access to the data base at present, so checks at Northern Irish Ports are key to ensuring dangerous persons do not travel on to Ireland or Great Britain undetected.
Prum is the fast time hit/no hit biometric exchange program (DNA/Fingerprints) within the European Union. The United Kingdom is signed up to commencing this instrument, in late 2017 (December). It speeds up biometric exchange, utilising new electronic gateways, reducing hit certification times to 15 minutes from the previous ten days timescale.
However, important as the measures are, this loss provides us with significant opportunities;
2 November 2016