Direct access to EU databases for the Swiss police
The spontaneous accession agreement in Prüm and the EURODAC Protocol will strengthen cooperation against cross-border and foreign crime
Crime often has a cross-border character. International cooperation will therefore play an even more important role in combating this phenomenon.
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The Prüm Participation Agreement and the EURODAC Protocol will enable this cooperation to be strengthened, making the exchange of information between Swiss law enforcement authorities and those of EU member states faster and more effective in the future.
At its meeting on 5 March 2021, the Federal Council adopted the relevant dispatch.
Terrorists, criminal organizations and gangs operating on a transnational level are today increasingly interconnected and mobile.
Arrests in Austria and Denmark for crimes in several cantons
For example, DNA traces found in coordinated Swiss investigations into ATM attacks in several cantons have led to arrests in Austria and Denmark.
To combat these forms of cross-border crime more effectively, international cooperation must be strengthened.
With the Participation Agreement in Prüm, the Federal Council is pursuing this goal. To this end, it has adopted the relevant message for the attention of Parliament.
Officers will receive relevant information more quickly
Information that is important for police work such as DNA profiles, fingerprints or data on vehicles and their owners are recorded in national information systems.
When DNA traces are found at a crime scene, Swiss investigating authorities carry out an initial comparison in the national DNA profile database.
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If no correspondence is found, the authorities in question can carry out a comparison with the databases of other countries.
At present, this procedure is time-consuming and expensive. Requests have to be sent via Interpol to each individual country.
The Agreement on the Participation in Prüm will make it possible to carry out an automated comparison with the databases of all EU countries participating in the Agreement with a single request.
Immediate reaction for DNA and fingerprint analyses
If a DNA trace or a fingerprint produces a match in another country’s database, Swiss law enforcement authorities will be informed directly and can request further information from the country in question.
The Prüm Participation Agreement thus makes international consultations simpler, more effective and faster for Swiss law enforcement agencies.
This will make it possible to speed up investigations and to identify more quickly correlations between crimes committed in Switzerland and abroad.
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In addition, it will be easier to identify and clarify serial crimes and the modus operandi of criminal organizations.
The Agreement is an essential instrument in the fight against transnational organized crime and terrorism and contributes to the security of the Swiss population.
Switzerland’s participation in Prüm is entirely voluntary
The Agreement on participation in Prüm is not a development of the Schengen acquis. Switzerland’s participation is therefore voluntary.
However, almost all European countries already participate in the exchange of DNA profiles, fingerprints and vehicle data via Prüm.
EURODAC supervision coordination group
Therefore, a non-participation of Switzerland would have a negative impact on the exchange of police information with EU member states in the future.
EURODAC protocol for fingerprints in force
The implementation of the Participation Agreement in Prüm is a prerequisite for the entry into force of the EURODAC Protocol.
The EURODAC Protocol stipulates that law enforcement authorities may access the database containing the fingerprints of persons who have applied for asylum in a Dublin country or who have been arrested while attempting to enter the Dublin area illegally.
Access to this database is only permitted for the purpose of preventing and detecting serious crimes and in cases of suspected terrorism.
Yes to the entry into force of the PCSC Agreement with the USA
At the same time as the technical implementation of the Prüm cooperation, the PCSC Agreement (Cooperation in Preventing and Combating Serious Crime) with the United States is also to enter into force.
This cooperation, which was approved by the Federal Council in 2012, pursues the same objectives as the Prüm cooperation, although it is limited to the exchange of DNA profiles and fingerprints.
