Ireland to join SIS II system
The European Union has recently endorsed the Republic of Ireland’s connection to the Schengen Information System II also known as SIS II.
Effective from March 15th, 2021, Ireland will hence be part of Europe’s most extensive IT system for public security. SIS II system serves as a tool to connect law enforcement agencies from 30 nations allowing them to share and consult data on, among others, missing persons, stolen or lost objects stolen or lost vehicles.
Once linked to SIS II, An Garda Síchána, the national police agency of the Republic of Ireland will gain full access to all the information and intelligence held in the system.
Gardaí will also become able to create alerts of its own therefore allowing the other participating Nations to detect the individuals or objects the alerts are about should they be spotted in their territory.
Ireland has been working its way to become part of SIS II since 2016, by building and testing the required IT infrastructure and by training its national officers, and it is now ready to join this crucial program which is part of the Schengen zone security system.
Despite joining SIS II, the Republic of Ireland, while being a member of the EU, has to this day shown no intention of becoming of the European free-travel zone also known as Schengen Area.
Official reactions
The resolution to induct Ireland in the Schengen Information System was openly welcomed by the Irish Minister for Justice Helen McEntee TD who declared as follows:
“Connecting to SIS is a game-changer for Gardaí in their investigation of cross border crime. The system will support much greater real-time police cooperation with our EU law enforcement colleagues and further build on Ireland’s ability to tackle serious crime”.
“An Garda Síochána has been working towards this since 2016, with very significant financial support from Government, to build and test the complex IT infrastructure and develop the training needed to complete the connection to SIS II. This project has long been a priority for my department which has drafted the enabling legislation and conducted the necessary negotiations with the EU institutions involved – keeping the focus on driving this work forward.”
John Twomey, Irish Deputy Commissioner for Policing and Security, stated:
“An Garda Síochána welcomes the EU Council’s decision. We have been building our organizational capacity in terms of our systems and people for some time to ensure we can harness the full benefits of this system in keeping people safe.”
“SIS II is the largest information system for public security in Europe. It will allow An Garda Síochána to share and receive information and alerts relating to persons, such as missing persons or those wanted on European Arrest Warrants, and objects such as stolen vehicles, as well as other categories of information from 30 law enforcement agencies across Europe.”
“SIS II is already well established across Europe. Its use here will give An Garda Síochána immediate access to significant amounts of data that will be a major aid to us in preventing and detecting crime. Ultimately, it will bring enhanced security to the people of this island.”
What is SIS II and how does it operate?
The Schengen Information System is the most extensive IT system for public security in Europe, with now 31 participating Nations. The system allows law enforcement agencies from all participating countries to share, view and control data on wanted persons, missing persons, illegal immigrants, and also on objects or vehicles that might have been stolen or lost.
The second generation of the Schengen Information System (SIS II) became fully operational on April 9, 2013, and currently allows authorities responsible, among other, for controls at the Schengen external borders, as well as within the Schengen Area, to publish, share and consult alerts about wanted or missing people and objects such as stolen vehicles and documents.
SIS II, for instance, provides information on individuals who do not have the right to enter or stay in the Schengen Area, or on those who are sought in relation to criminal activities. SIS II also contains information on missing persons, in particular children and infants or other vulnerable subjects that are in proven need of protection and or guardianship. Details concerning some specific kinds of objects are also recorded in SIS II like, for instance, cars, arms, boats or identity documents that might have been stolen, lost, or even used to commit a reported felony.
European supervision
SIS II is therefore extremely useful as a tool of cooperation between countries while also compensating for the abolition of border checks within the Schengen Area creating a safer environment both for EU residents and visitors.
European Central SIS II is supervised by the European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS). Supervision over each National SIS II is assigned to the Data Protection Authorities (DPAs) in each of the respective Member State.
So as to ensure a coordinated supervision of SIS II between EDPS and national relevant authorities the SIS II Supervision Coordination Group was also established in 2013.
Recent changes and enhancements in SIS II system
Perfecting a process begun in 2016, 2021 will bring new functionalities and data in SIS II to strengthen the system itself and foster security throughout Europe.
The main changes will be in the following areas:
Biometrics: SIS will contain biometric and DNA data concerning, for example, missing persons to confirm their identity.
Anti-terrorism: strategic information will be shared on persons and objects possibly involved in terrorism-related activities, allowing the authorities of the Member States to better patrol and prevent terrorist acts to take place.
Vulnerable individual: relevant authorities will have the faculty of entering preventive alerts so as to protect certain categories of vulnerable persons (missing persons, children at risk of abduction and/or potential victims of human trafficking and/or gender-based violence).
Irregular migration: border rejections and entry bans will also be shared as part of the information to enhance a more effective enforcement EU’s border policies.
Enhanced access for EU Agencies: Europol will have access to all alert categories in SIS II. At the same time European Border and Coast Guard Agencies will be able to access SIS II for the purpose of carrying out their migration check tasks in the hotspots.
Moreover, the introduction since March 2018 of an AFIS (Automated Fingerprint Identification System) in SIS, and the resulting availability of a feature carrying out searches using fingerprints, has already made more difficult for wrongdoers to move across Europe.
Statistics
Here is a short summary of the data on the use Member States did of SIS in 2019 and 2020 (definitive date for 2021 are still not available; the remarkable decrease in searches is believed to due to the impact of the covid pandemic on freedom of movement).
Year 2019:
- 6.6 billion searches by Member States
- 91 million alerts
- 283,000 hits processed
Year 2020:
- 3.7 billion searches by Member States
- 93.4 million alerts
- 210.000 hits processed
Geographical extension of SIS II
Considering the imminent induction of Ireland in the System, SIS II is used in 31 European countries, including 27 EU Member States and 4 Schengen Associated Countries (Switzerland, Norway, Liechtenstein and Iceland).
EU Member States with special arrangements:
Despite not yet being part of the Schengen Area, Bulgaria and Romania started using SIS since August 2018.
Post Brexit the United Kingdom will no longer participate in SIS but continues to avail of other channels of cooperation.
Cyprus is not yet connected to SIS and remains to this day the only EU Member Country not yet to be part of the program.
Ireland’s participation in SIS II was ruled by Council Decision 2007/533/JHA, which establishes SIS II for law enforcement purposes. Ireland will connect to SIS II on 15 March 2021 becoming able to provide and receive data under SIS II, therefore participating in the policing and criminal/judicial co-operation measures that are part of the Schengen Agreement. Still, Ireland does not participate in the common border control and visa provisions of the Schengen Agreement as it is not a member of the Schengen common travel area.
Which benefits will SIS II system bring to Ireland and the rest of Europe?
The key benefit or joining SIS II is enhanced security achieved through data and intelligence sharing between several agencies involved with law enforcement across Europe.
When live in Ireland, SIS II will allow the automated, simultaneous, and immediate exchange of information across all other countries using SIS II. Irish Garda officers themselves will be able to add data to SIS II in the form of alerts.
An alert on SIS II contains three elements:
- identifying information on the person or object/vehicle sought
- a statement on why the person or object is sought
- the action to be taken when the person or object is found
In case the person or object is found or discovered in another country registered in SIS II, a hit will be recorded on the system and law enforcement agents in that country will contact Irish Authorities to discuss the relevant next steps. This way, all missing person records and lost or stolen object and vehicle records created by the Irish police will be immediately available to all the other countries using SIS II. In 2019 alone, there were 120,000 missing person records shared on SIS II.
Likewise, records concerning all persons sought for across Europe will be automatically checked each time a member of An Garda Síochána conducts a name search on the Garda PULSE system or when a member of the Immigration Service of the Department of Justice conducts a passport scan at a point of entry to Ireland. In 2019 alone there were over 40,000 alerts on SIS II for persons wanted for arrest at the end of 2019.
The new SIRENE Bureau (Supplementary Information Request at the National Entries) within An Garda Síochána, which will operate on a 24/7 basis to ensure a timely response to alerts, will also be responsible for the daily management of the SIS system and coordination with central SIS II.