Swiss police to receive important information more quickly
Swiss law enforcement authorities and those of EU member states are to be able to search more efficiently for DNA traces of offenders in the future. The Federal Council adopted a corresponding dispatch at its meeting on March 5.
The fight against crime in Switzerland and the EU is to be strengthened within the framework of the so-called "Prüm Agreement" and with "Eurodac Protocol," according to a statement by the federal government. Often in the past, searches in ATM burglary cases led to arrests in neighboring countries. Valuable information such as DNA profiles, fingerprints or vehicle owner data is usually stored in national databases. However, the DNA traces found at a crime scene are usually first matched via the national database - only afterwards can the DNA traces also be matched with databases of other countries.
Central matching between EU countries
Until now, this check has been costly and, according to the federal government, "lengthy" because the request is first sent to the individual countries via Interpol. Under the Prüm Convention, for which a message was adopted on March 5, an automated comparison of the databases of all participating countries will now be possible.
As a result, Switzerland's law enforcement authorities receive a report on a fingerprint in another country's database more quickly and can request further information more efficiently. The Prüm agreement is a Schengen development in which Switzerland can participate voluntarily. However, all European countries already exchange DNA profiles, fingerprints and vehicle data via Prüm.
The implementation of the Prüm Convention is also a prerequisite for the entry into force of the Eurodac Protocol. This provides for law enforcement authorities to have direct access to the database in which fingerprints of individuals are stored. However, access to this database is only permitted in serious suspicion cases or in cases where a terrorist plot is suspected.
Source: Confederation
