Recommendation 13

The establishment of UK-CRIS to replace the UK’s participation in the European Criminal Records Information System (ECRIS) is welcome. Effective policing of the open border on the island of Ireland is assisted by efficient and reliable assessment of criminal records. The 20-day time limit included in the Trade and Co-operation Agreement is an improvement on the 1959 Convention on Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters which the UK and EU would have had to rely upon if no agreement on security had been reached. However, it is not as strict as the 10- day time limit that is in place under ECRIS. The Government must work with the Irish Government to ensure that criminal record data requested for the purposes of criminal proceedings continues to be exchanged as quickly as possible between UK 46 Cross-border co-operation on policing, security and criminal justice after Brexit and Irish law enforcement agencies, aiming for the shorter time limits as set out when using ECRIS rather than the 20-day time limit set out in the Trade and Co-operation Agreement; and reporting on its performance against those limits.