Ripol revision: exchange of information is simplified
The Federal Council has approved the revised ordinance on the Ripol automated police search system. In the course of the revision, the access rights of the authorities have also been improved. The exchange of information on persons and objects recorded in the system will be facilitated. The changes are to come into force on December 1, 2016.
The technical and practical innovations of the information processing in the Ripol database required an update of the ordinance. The database is now simpler, easier to query and adapted to the needs of the authorities who want to retrieve information on wanted persons and objects according to their tasks and in compliance with data protection regulations.
The Road Traffic Office, Seco and Swissmedic now also have access
For example, the military justice authorities, the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (Seco), the criminal law department of Swissmedic and the road traffic offices will in future have access to the category of identity documents. These authorities will be able to check whether a passport is recorded in Ripol and clarify whether there is a connection between a particular person and an identity document. The State Secretariat for Migration (SEM) will also have access to alerts on wanted persons, and the Federal Intelligence Service (FIS) will in future be able to access alerts on unsolved crimes in which clues to the perpetrators or vehicles involved in the crime are recorded.
Alarm related to stolen vehicles
Another innovation brought about by the revision concerns the duration of retention of data on stolen or missing art objects and weapons. As long as the art object or weapon has not been found, the corresponding data will remain recorded in Ripol. Data on missing persons was previously kept until they reached the age of 80; now the data is kept until the missing person reaches the age of 100. In the course of the revision of the Ripol regulation, the Interpol regulation has also been amended so that stolen vehicles can be searched for more effectively. The technical vehicle data is communicated to the vehicle manufacturer. If a service or repair is carried out at a garage on a stolen vehicle that has been put on the international wanted list, an alarm is triggered.
The automated police search system (Ripol) is a national communication channel. It is used by the police and judicial authorities of the 26 cantons, the Federal Office of Police (Fedpol), the Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland (BA), the Federal Office of Justice (FOJ) and the Border Guard Corps (GWK). The database-supported Ripol search system records information on criminals and objects such as stolen weapons, vehicles and objects that are being searched for.
Source: Federal Office of Police
