UK police and Border Force to remain locked out of EU database of criminals

Exclusive: Home Office admits vital access to Schengen Information System II lost for up to four years

Frontline police and border force officers will remain locked out of information on a key EU database of terror suspects, criminals and immigration offenders for at least another four years, the Home Office has quietly admitted.

UK police and security services conducted more than 600m real time checks on the Schengen Information System II [SIS II] in 2019, but the following year lost access to its instant information on policing, national security, or immigration alerts because of Brexit. Ministers said in 2020 they hoped to get access to a planned new EU international law enforcement alert platform “within two or three years”.