Schengen police cooperation handbook

The pursuing officers shall be easily identifiable, either by their uniform, by means of an armband or by accessories fitted to their vehicles. In order to intensify police cooperation when maintaining public order and safety and preventing crimes, relevant authorities may use joint patrols and other joint operations , i. The aim of the joint patrols is to facilitate the access to law enforcement by nationals from the different Member States concerned, to improve general cooperation among the authorities and officers involved, to provide practical and linguistic assistance to the officers of the host State, to facilitate communication with national authorities of the supporting State, etc.

A special kind of joint operation is assistance in mass gatherings and similar major events, disasters or serious accidents with the aim to prevent criminality, maintain public order and safety. In relation to football matches with an international dimension and adopting measures to prevent violence and riots, National Football Information Point has been established, providing for cooperation during international football matches exceeding the exchange of information.

Joint investigation teams are considered to be a suitable tool in the fight against cross-border criminal activities. Joint investigation teams will be set up in line with the provisions of the Convention on Mutual Legal Assistance and following an agreement between two or several Member States and other contracting parties for a specific purpose and limited duration.

All the above-mentioned proposals will now be examined by the European Parliament, and Council and then a Directive on information exchange and the Regulation on automated data exchange will be adopted. Schengen Visa. December 8, Must Read. Latest News. About , people working in the travel and tourism sector in Spain lost their jobs in due to Via e-mail-alerts en de nieuwsbrieffunctie zijn u en uw relaties altijd onmiddellijk op de hoogte.

This applies for example when the authorities learn of the offence for which cross-border surveillance is required at such a late stage that the request for assistance could not be granted even if it was transmitted to the central authority immediately. Except in emergencies, a request for assistance must first be sent via the central authorities of each state see national fact sheets for the contact details. In emergencies, the request will be sent as soon as possible.

The competent authorities in the requested State shall consider a request from a competent authority Annex 1 in the requesting State seeking approval for cross-border surveillance as a request for judicial assistance within the meaning of Article 40 1 and 2 Schengen Convention This request must contain all of the information available at the time relating to the elements in the document in Annex 2.

Authorisation in response to the request possibly with conditions attached must have been given by the requested State, which may of course refuse. Once the border has been crossed: - The officer must comply with the national law of the country in which he is operating and follow the instructions of the locally competent authorities. Unless the requested State expressly objects, the officer may carry his service weapon; its use is prohibited except in cases of legitimate self-defence under the national law of the requested country.

The concepts of legitimate self-defence and service weapon in each state are defined in the national fact sheets. Entry into homes and places not accessible to the public is prohibited see national fact sheets for definitions.

The person under surveillance may not be arrested or stopped and questioned. The officers carrying out the surveillance must follow the instructions of the locally competent authorities, i.

In general, these authorities must be notified before the start of the surveillance. In emergencies, the officers must contact the nearest authority responsible for police tasks when they cross the border. Once the operation has been concluded: - A report must be made to the authorities of the requested country after completion of every operation; the officers who performed the surveillance may be required to appear in person.

The authorities of the requested country may require the assistance of the seconded officers in the follow-up, investigations and judicial procedures after the operation. Only officers authorised by the individual State may exercise the power of pursuit see national fact sheets.

Conditions tied to the type of offence: each State has the choice between two options for the types of offence allowing the power of pursuit to be exercised: either the restrictive list of offences listed in Article 41 4 a or extraditable offences see Section 2. Reference must be made to the national fact sheets to find out which option has been chosen by an individual State. This does not affect the right to make a citizen's arrest in the State on whose territory the pursuit is carried out when an offender is caught in the act.

The different legal situations and restrictions set by each State are set out in the national fact sheets. It is mandatory to inform the authorities of the State on whose territory the pursuit is being carried out at the latest upon crossing the border. The officer must act in compliance with the national law of the country in which he is operating and must follow the instructions of the locally competent authorities.

The power to exercise road traffic privileges during pursuit is granted to the pursuing officers in accordance with the national law of the State onto whose territory pursuit is continued where applicable, see national fact sheets for the legal situation.

The agents involved must appear before the locally competent authorities to make a report after every pursuit, no matter what the outcome; if the latter so wish, the officers must remain available and provide assistance, if requested, with the follow-up, investigations and judicial procedures.

If the person is arrested and is not a national of the country where the arrest was made, he must be released six hours after arrest if no provisional arrest warrant for extradition is forthcoming the hours between midnight and 9. The persons arrested may only be subjected to a security search for the purpose of bringing them before the local authorities. They may be hand-cuffed and objects on their person may be seized. This manual is geared towards averting dangers to public order and security which may.

Cooperation shall apply, inter alia, to events where large numbers of persons from more. Contents of the information: The information which Member States supply one another must be dealt with confidentially and shall be used exclusively for the purpose for which it is provided. Communication: In order to exchange information, the central authority may use the Liaison Bureaux and, if appropriate, joint police stations or the contact points referred to in this manual.

The following means of communication may be used when exchanging information: tel, fax, e-mail, radio communication, other means of data communication. The Secretariat shall verify annually whether the details for the central authorities are still up to date. The central authorities concerned shall notify the Secretariat of any amendments occurring in the meantime.

The secondment and exchange of ad hoc liaison officers i. At the request of the authorised police authority of each of the Member States, liaison officers may be sent to other Schengen States when a report or information on a real, impending danger is received. The task of liaison officers shall be to advise and assist. The liaison officers shall not be empowered to execute autonomously any police. The relevant police authority of the host Member State shall determine the activities of. Setting up on-site Joint Command and Coordination Centres on an ad hoc basis Should the circumstances give cause, police authorities from Member States concerned may, with a view to coordinating operations, set up joint command and coordination centres; this shall be without prejudice to domestic powers.

The improvement of cooperation between Central Authorities With a view to fostering cooperation between the central authorities, the Presidency shall, if necessary, convene an annual meeting of the heads of the central authorities to be held each spring. Evaluation of cooperation An opinion on the cooperation referred to in this manual shall be incorporated in the Annual Report by the Police Cooperation Working Party.

Name of the person under surveillance or, if unavailable, name Cross-border surveillance: ordinary or urgent File no. Telephone Fax Competent police force Person in charge, tel, fax Legal classification of the acts: