What impact will Brexit have on police in the UK?

Analysis: As British law enforcement faces losing access to all EU databases, Lizzie Dearden looks at the impact of Brexit on domestic policing

'Because processes have been automated for such a long time, officers will be using EU systems without realising' (PA)

EU databases have become so integral to British policing that most officers are using them on a daily basis without even realising.

When police search for a suspect’s history on the Police National Computer, their equipment automatically scans the EU-wide Schengen Information System (SIS II) database at the same time – currently amounting to 539 million searches a year.

But if the UK leaves the EU without a deal on 29 March, that system and several others will instantly be switched off.