West Midlands Police identify how Brexit will affect policing

West Midlands Police has identified a dozen areas which could hinder its current capabilities if Britain was to leave the EU with no deal.

And Chief Constable Dave Thompson admitted there was no 'contingency plan' at the moment about what would happen if existing arrangement could not be maintained post-Brexit.

A key matter up for negotiation will be Britain's membership of Europol – the EU's international crime and terrorism fighting body.

Around half of Europol's 12 active operations are currently led or co-led by the UK, including cybercrime and migrant smuggling.

The agency is also headed by its Welsh director Robert Wainwright.

As it stand non-EU states are not currently members of Europol’s management board.

Mr Thompson told the West Midlands Strategic Policing and Crime Board: "Our involvement in Europol I think is very important. It's not long since we seconded an officer to Europol to work on firearms. We put a lot of information into Europol and get a lot of benefits. It is a real asset and I think their are real strengths and advantages.

"The sharing and access to criminal records systems seems to me to be a very useful thing.

"We find the partnership with Europol to be rather quite important."

Mr Thompson said it was 'too early' to start contingency planning because no-one knows what any deal with the EU will look like.

But he said Britain was an 'asset' to the EU in terms of policing and that he was 'pleased' that it featured in the Prime Minister's Article 50 letter to Brussels.

However, Labour Police and Crime Commissioner David Jamieson described Brexit as an 'act of complete madness' and said he had 'serious concerns' about the country's crime fighting capabilities after the country leaves the EU.

He said: "I feel we are taking a huge leap backwards into an abyss of unknown depth and have some serious concerns whether some of these issues will be resolved and the enormity of the task of hand.

"It is crucial that Brexit is not allowed to hinder the police’s ability to tackle crime and protect the public. Sharing information has helped us track down criminals abroad and deport them from our shores. That must be allowed to continue."

He added: Brexit seems to me to be an act of total madness – it doesn't just divide us from Europe but divides us from each other."

The report Policing and Brexit was complied by Mr Thompson and Jonathan Jardine, the chief executive Mr Jamieson's office.

It concludes. "The UK’s departure from the EU will require consideration of the nature of our engagement. It is possible that interim agreements will be used to continue UK participation in [EU crime fighting] processes and organisations."