Flaws in Expanded EU Police Cooperation

Implementing the Prüm Convention into the EU legal framework will result in good access to other countries’ criminal records – in some cases better access than the country’s own police force.

The Prüm Convention was originally only applicable for seven countries, but a new proposal extending this arrangement to the entire EU is now being drafted by the Council of Ministers [1]. This agreement would give the police in EU-countries the possibility to search each other’s DNA-, fingerprint- and vehicle databases.

The Swedish Data Inspectorate (Datatilsynet) points out that foreign police in some cases can be given access to information in Swedish databases that the Swedish police themselves are not allowed. This occurs if foreign police want to use Swedish databases to take preventive action. EU countries have different laws concerning how far you can go in investigating people not suspected of any specific crime. In Sweden, there are clear rules restricting access to information about non-suspects.

The police will have to comply with their own national restrictions, according to the new agreement. The police in countries with poor regulations on for instance access to fingerprints will therefore be granted access to information in Swedish databases, to which the Swedish police themselves do not have access. Many EU countries allow the police to store a great deal of information about witnesses, claimants and others not suspected of any crime. The Swedish Data Inspectorate claims that the proposal from the Council violates the personal integrity of the citizens, and argues that the EU should develop a strong common data protection policy.

Sources:

Datainspektionen (Sweden)

EU :

http://www.eu2007.de/en/