Information exchange to improve in police cooperation between EU countries
The Government has submitted to Parliament a proposal for an act on the automated search and exchange of information for European police cooperation. The proposal would introduce amendments to national legislation required by the EU regulation known as Prüm II.
The Prüm II Regulation entered into force on 25 April 2024. Its aim is to improve the automated exchange of criminal information and vehicle registration data between Member States and Europol and, through this, to facilitate the prevention, detection and investigation of criminal offences. The regulation lays down the conditions and procedures for the automated searches and exchange of DNA profiles, facial images, police records, dactyloscopic data (in other words, fingerprint data) and vehicle registration data.
Finland to take part in the exchange of police record data between EU countries
The exchange of police record data is a cornerstone of international police cooperation. At present, it takes place via a messaging system maintained by Europol. According to the government proposal, Finland would participate in the European Police Record Index System (EPRIS) established by the Prüm II Regulation.
This would make the exchange of information between the Finnish Police, Finnish Customs, the Finnish Border Guard and other participating countries more effective and simpler. The new system would also take data protection better into account than current procedures.
According to the proposal, authorities could carry out automated searches of reference data relating to DNA, fingerprints or facial images, vehicle registration data and police record data in order to identify missing persons and deceased persons in connection with criminal investigations. In humanitarian cases of disappearance or death, automated searches could be carried out in DNA, fingerprint and facial image reference data and vehicle registration data. Searches of police record data would not be permitted in humanitarian cases, as there would be no sufficient grounds for querying police records.
EPRIS queries could only be carried out for the purpose of preventing, detecting and investigating offences punishable by imprisonment of at least one year, and only in individual cases. More efficient and faster access to information in criminal investigations may, for example, speed up the criminal procedure.
Once EPRIS becomes operational, requests for information can be addressed to the state holding information about the person in question. This will avoid unnecessary queries and responses to such queries, freeing up resources for other tasks. In particular, for the purpose of investigating cross-border crime, it is more cost-effective, where necessary, to obtain information from several relevant Member States in which the same perpetrators have operated.
Inquiries:
Hannele Taavila, Police Director, tel. +358 295 488 568, [email protected]