european arrest warrants contents

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OFFICIAL European Arrest Warrants of 12

European Arrest Warrants

Contents

Part one - Policy ............................................................................................................ 2 Chapter 1 Warrant management ............................................................................. 3

Part two – Policy procedure ......................................................................................... 4 Chapter 1 Administration of warrants ...................................................................... 4

Making an arrest ................................................................................. 4 Establishing identity ............................................................................ 5 Use of caution ..................................................................................... 6

Chapter 2 Search powers ........................................................................................ 6 Chapter 3 Custody procedure ................................................................................. 7 Chapter 4 Preparing for court .................................................................................. 8

Court result ....................................................................................... 10 Chapter 5 Removal from the country ..................................................................... 11

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European arrest warrants Part one - Policy

Policy summary

West Yorkshire Police complies with Authorised Professional Practice (APP) which contains information to assist policing, and has established a local policy procedure to provide clear standards and guidelines, covering the Forces responsibilities for the arrest, co-ordination and transportation of persons detained on European arrest warrants (EAWs) in our area.

Aim The aims of the policy procedure are to explain: • what an EAW is;• the circumstances where someone can be extradited;• how to prepare a case file; and• the protocols for their removal from the country.

Scope This policy procedure applies to all police officers.

Compliance This policy complies with: • APP Investigation

• NPIA ACPO Practice Guidance and ACPO (2012) Practice Advice on European Cross Border Investigations

• Crime International Cooperation Act 2003

• Extradition Act 2003 Codes of Practice; and

• Section 63B of Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (as amended by Section 7 of the Drugs Act 2005).

Definition An EAW is: • an arrest warrant to allow the arrest of criminal suspects and their

transfer for trial or detention which is valid throughout the states ofthe European Union (EU).

Appeal The detainee will have the right to appeal the extradition and is given seven days to action this.

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Chapter 1 Warrant management

Lead agency All incoming and outgoing EAWs will be dealt with by the National Crime Agency (NCA).

Contact details - NCA

NCA can be contacted via: • telephone; or• email.

For enquiries falling outside normal office hours, contact should be made via telephone (NCA - 24 hour availability).

Issuing a European warrant

There are two sets of circumstances where a person can be sought for extradition: 1. during the course of enquiries to trace a nominal; and2. a nominal has been identified for a serious offence and has left the

country.

For an EAW to be issued, the CPS must be satisfied that: • there is sufficient evidence to charge; and• it is in the public interest to do so.

Further advice

Contact the EAWs SPOC on telephone or email the European Arrest Warrants Mailbox during office hours.

Alternatively: • out of hours - view the EAW website on the Force intranet which can

be found on the A-Z index under E; or• contact the duty inspector, Protective Services - Operations via

telephone (24 hour coverage) for advice on the execution of European arrest warrants.

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European arrest warrants Part two – Policy procedure

Chapter 1 Administration of warrants

Incoming warrant

After certifying the warrant, NCA will arrange for PNC to be updated.

The original warrant will remain in the country of origin.

If … Then … pre Schengen Information System II;

copies in English and the language of the country of origin will be initially verified by NCA and provided to the Force.

post Schengen Information System II;

the NCA or EAW SPOC will provide the Force with a copy of the warrant in the language of the country of origin and Form A in English.

Community impact assessment

Where the arrest of an EU national is to take place, you must consider: • the potential for any impact on the immediate or wider community. It

is imperative that community relationships are maintained;• the need to undertake a community impact assessment before any

arrest is made and, where necessary, seek advice regardingcommunity relationships, tensions or sensitivities from the localNeighbourhood Policing Team.

Making an arrest

Arrest no prior planning

If an arrest is made without prior planning, you must contact NCA immediately and inform them of the arrest via telephone (24 hours availability).

If the arrest is during office hours, you must: • send an email to the European Arrest Warrants mailbox; and• contact the EAW SPOC via telephone for advice and

assistance.

If out of hours, you should view the European Arrest Warrants website which can be found on the Force intranet A-Z index under E.

Unplanned arrest

In the event of an unplanned arrest, you should email an electronic copy of the warrant, the Form A and NCA Part 1 Certificate to the NCA who have a 24 hour service and can be contacted via telephone.

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You may ask the NCA for advice when the EAW SPOC is unavailable.

Pre planned arrests

On a pre planned arrest, you will be in possession of a copy of both the English and foreign language warrant, together with any appropriate documents, i.e. photographs, fingerprints etc.

Domestic offences

Domestic offences should take precedence. It may be preferable to delay an arrest and subsequent execution of the EAW until the detainee has been processed for the domestic offence. You should balance the seriousness of the domestic matter, against that of the EAW offence, and act accordingly.

If you are unsure, you should seek advice before executing the warrant from the EAW SPOC via telephone or via the European Arrest Warrants mailbox.

Warrant owned by other Force

Where the warrant is owned by another Force and you arrest a detainee in the West Yorkshire are, you should deal with them as if they are our detainee and convey them to the nearest designated police station.

You should obtain a copy of the warrant from the NCA.

Onward transportation of the detainee to the City of Westminster magistrates’ court is WYP’s responsibility using a transport company.

Establishing identity

Correctly identifying a suspect

Correct identification of the suspect is paramount.

If there is any doubt regarding identification, you must not arrest / execute the warrant.

Arresting officer responsibility

As the arresting officer you will need to establish the identity of the person arrested and must ask the following: • “What is your name?”; and• “What is your date of birth?”

You should record the responses in your statement.

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Use of caution

Use of appropriate caution

When performing the arrest it is imperative that you use the appropriate caution. This is not an arrest under PACE so you should state the following:

“You are under arrest under the Extradition Act 2003. You do not have to say anything. Anything you do say may be given in evidence “

You must inform the person what they are being arrested for, it is not sufficient for the person to be told they are wanted on an EAW.

You must serve a full copy of the EAW and certificate of receipt, included in the warrant, on the detainee as soon as practicable after arrest. When the EAW is served it must remain with the detainee.

If there is more than one warrant, you must serve all warrants and make it explicit in your arrest statement that each warrant was served. This should also be endorsed on the custody record.

Chapter 2 Search powers

Introduction The Extradition Act 2003 provides you with search powers depending on the nature of the EAW.

Search to confirm identity

If the warrant is for a convicted person who is being extradited in order to serve out their sentence, you may only search for material which may assist in confirming the person’s identity.

Seizing property confirming identity

Regardless of the type of warrant any items confirming the identity of the subject should be seized. This may include: • identity cards;• driver’s licence; or• passport.

NB You must book these items into your district property store and not send them to court.

Any property seized at the time of arrest must be noted in your statement.

It is imperative that every effort is made to secure as much identification evidence as possible to present to the extradition court.

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Property seized in connection with the offence

You should document any property seized in connection with an offence relating to the EAW on Niche and retain it in your district property store. This property should be collected by the nominated WYP escort officers on the day of removal and handed to the foreign escort officers at the airport.

Again, you must make a note of any property seized at the time of arrest in your statement.

Chapter 3 Custody procedure

Introduction You must take EAW detainees to the nearest designated police station.

Although the detainee is not the subject of PACE, the principles of PACE in relation to health and welfare will be adhered to. Refer to Extradition Act 2003 Codes of Practice.

Non crime occurrence

You should create a Niche non crime occurrence using the nearest UK offence to that on the warrant to facilitate the creation of an A/S number.

See Niche occurrence creation guidelines.

Niche system You should deal with EAW detainees on the Niche custody system as ‘Warrant’ cases.

You should: • complete the Warrant Management System when the EAW is

executed. This will send an automated notification to PNC cell;• use the Niche Occurrence Custody Disposal of Extradition Warrant

and the information will then be transferred electronically on to PNCby the Quality Control unit.

You should quote the A/S number obtained on the subject’s DNA and fingerprint records.

Note: The creation of an A/S number will allow retention of the fingerprints and DNA on the detainee’s PNC record.

Fingerprints and DNA

Section 166 of the Extradition Act 2003 gives the power to take fingerprints, DNA and photographs but only with written permission of the detainee. The act specifically requires a constable to obtain the fingerprints.

An inspector’s authority may be obtained to take them by force.

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The OIC/arresting officer or custody officer will cause and oversee the taking of fingerprints of an EAW detainee.

Drug testing Where the nearest UK offence selected is one of the ‘drugs trigger offences’, specified under Section 63B of Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (as amended by Section 7 of the Drugs Act 2005), there is no requirement to test for the presence of specified Class A substances.

This is owing to the: • logistics of the criminal justice procedure, where, in these

circumstances, the priority will be transportation of the detainee; and• impracticalities involved with the detainee attending a mandatory

Required Assessment should they test positive for specified Class Asubstances.

Transporting the detainee

Custody staff must: • request company to transport the detainee to City of Westminster

magistrates’ as soon as they are booked in to custody as they mustappear as soon as practicable;

• note transport company’s reply must be made on the Custodyrecord; and

• inform the court of the estimated time of arrival of the detainee.If the transport company are unable to do this, a nominated officerfrom Protective Services – Operations will transport the detainee tothe City of Westminster magistrates’ court.

Documents to go with detainee

A Person Escort Record (PER) Form and supporting medical evidence is required, as per normal detainee protocol.

The court file must be ready to be transported with the detainee as well.

Chapter 4 Preparing for court

Introduction The following documents comprise the file papers: • MG7;• MG11;• copy of the warrant and NCA Form A;• any copies of identification documents; and• defence and prosecution PNC printouts.

The table outlines the minimum information required:

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Step Action 1 MG7 needs to be completed to the same standard as a

domestic offence; 2 previous convictions from the UK should be included; 3 MG11 must detail how identification has been

established: • pre planned arrest; or• no prior planning;

4 questions and answers in direct speech must be recorded; and

5 time of arrest must be recorded.

Emailing file papers

You must:

Step Action 1 email all file papers, including a copy of the EAW,

certificate and the custody record (NB ensure they are sent Not Protectively Marked) to all the following:

• CPS;• International Office at the C o W magistrates’ court;

and• NCA; and

2 copy in the Force European Arrest Warrants mailbox.

Service of the warrant

You must record the service of the warrant in your statement and the recommended wording is:

‘I handed (suspect’s name) a copy of the European arrest warrant. This warrant was in English and (Language) and included the certificate of service issued by NCA.’

If the statement does not include this information, there is a high probability that the case will be discharged.

If there is more than one warrant, all warrants need to be served and you must make it explicit in your arrest statement that each warrant was served. This should also be endorsed on the custody record.

How identification is proven

If identification is: • proved by the seizure of documents then you must show this and

exhibit the documents, i.e. passport; or• established by fingerprints then the officer who took the prints needs

to record in their statement what has been done.

Retrieval of a passport

If you retrieved a passport / identity card at the time of arrest, then the original should remain with you as arresting officer and be booked into

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the district property store. You should make a copy and send it with the file papers to the CPS and NCA.

Under no circumstances should the passport or identity card go with the detainee to court.

Inaccurate files

Inaccurate files may result in: • the case failing at court, or• the possible requirement for the OIC to attend at City of Westminster

magistrates’ court.

Transporting the file

The file must be ready so that the transport company can transport it at the same time as the detainee.

Court result

Breach of bail Where you arrest the detainee for breach of bail conditions, they should be kept in custody for a court appearance at local magistrates’ court who will inform Westminster of the result of the hearing.

The arresting Force is responsible for updating new remand details on PNC and any associated conditions, informing the previous owner so that the remand date can be amended.

Failing to appear

Westminster magistrates’ court will issue a fail to appear warrant and pass the information to the original arresting force for circulation on PNC.

Failing to answer extradition repatriation appointment

Westminster magistrates’ court will issue a fail to appear warrant and pass it to NCA, who will forward the information to the original arresting force for circulation on PNC.

Right of appeal

The detainee has the right to appeal the extradition and has seven days to action this.

If there is no appeal forthcoming, then the detainee must be removed and the court will advise NCA of the date.

Should there be an appeal, the process will stop and the courts will advise NCA, who in turn will advise the Force, of the timetable and result.

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Chapter 5 Removal from the country

Introduction Once the court has ordered the removal of the detainee, travel arrangements will be made by NCA.

Collection from prison

A company will be required to collect the detainee from prison, and transport to the relevant airport, where local protocols do not exist.

For airports with no holding facilities, there is a protocol whereby detainees will be conveyed from prison and will be housed at one of their cell complexes, prior to onward movement to the specified airport.

WYP officers will undertake this task.

Polish nationals will be picked up from prison and taken to an airport.

Departure from airport

You should arrive at the airport a minimum of four hours before departure, where you will need to: • liaise with the airline, airport staff; and• contact the foreign officers collecting the detainee.

Officers are required to stay at the airport until thirty minutes after take off, and are responsible for the detainee until arrival at the country of destination.

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European arrest warrants