Filenews 7 May 2023
The important date is July 25, 2023. Cyprus gains access to perhaps the largest information bank in the world, in order to make its citizens feel safer. After decades of efforts and after our country has been positively evaluated, it will gain access to the Schengen Information Exchange System, which means that EUR 90 million will be allocated to the Schengen Information Exchange. citizens will be given to the security authorities.
Access to the EU database, as Police Inspector A' Haris Filippidis explains to "F". Director of the European Union & International Police Cooperation Directorate, it will help with illegal migration, crack down on international crime, identify fraudsters more easily, prevent parental abduction of children, or locate missing persons. Now someone who committed a crime in Cyprus will not be able to escape, while in real time when a wanted person is wanted in a country the authorities here will know about it and will not need the procedures that were time-consuming and allowed the perpetrator to disappear. explains it all in the interview with "F" with examples.
- What was the course of the Republic of Cyprus until we reached full membership in the single Schengen area?
- The 25th of July 2023 will be a historic date for our country, since gaining access to the Information Exchange System (SIS) has been one of the main short-term goals of the Republic of Cyprus since our accession to the European Union family in 2004. Since then, preparations have been made by all the relevant ministries, other government agencies and the police, with a view to our full integration into the single Schengen area.
Our country's efforts were intensified in 2019, when the then Minister of Foreign Affairs and now President of the Republic, Mr. Nikos Christodoulides, submitted a Declaration of Readiness of the Republic of Cyprus to the European Commission, to be evaluated in all Schengen areas. Since then, we have been successfully evaluated in five of the six areas, as follows: (a) Personal Data Protection, (b) Police Cooperation, (c) External Borders, (d) Returns and (e) Visas/Consulates. In order to complete the Schengen evaluations successfully, the last evaluation remains to be carried out, that of the SIS/SIRENE sector, which is scheduled for next September.
-What is the Schengen Information System (SIS) and for what purpose was it created?
- The Schengen Information System is a police cooperation tool implemented by its Member States for many years. It is the largest database in the European Union and one of the largest in the world. It contains more than 90 million pieces of information, the most important of which concern wanted persons, dangerous criminals, terrorist suspects, missing/missing persons, missing minors, stolen cars, stolen or lost travel documents, information on irregular migration, etc. It also sharply increases the chances of locating the offender(s) in cases against property and recovering stolen property.
By using this tool, checks carried out at the EU's external borders will be strengthened as the SIS will contain data on falsified documents, including travel documents and visas. In particular, irregular migration management is achieved, as information on return decisions is recorded in it, while the new version of the System (SIS Recast) contains new improved tools to better identify third-country nationals (for the purpose of refusing entry or stay or verifying whether they pose a risk to public security). The SIS allows authorities to search and verify, using fingerprints, whether the third-country nationals being screened have the right to enter or stay in the EU.
Equally important is the opportunity it provides in relation to the protection of the most vulnerable groups of our fellow human beings. The alert categories for children at risk of abduction and vulnerable persons at risk are now part of SIS. These warnings help prevent parental abduction of children and their illegal removal abroad, as guardianship orders will be located in the SIS and will therefore be readily available to National Authorities.
-What is the added value of the SIS for our country, and what does its acquisition mean in practice?
- As can be easily understood, the Schengen Information System will be the most powerful weapon in the daily struggle of the Police and the other Law Enforcement Authorities of the Republic of Cyprus (Department of Customs, Unit for Combating Cover-Up Offences and Commissioner of Taxation). The immediacy and speed with which a piece of information reaches the corresponding authorities of the other state, without the intervention of any other body, contributes decisively to the fight against crime, terrorism and illegal immigration.
The Schengen Information System finally puts the Republic of Cyprus on the same step as the other EU Member States in the field of Police Cooperation, since the SIS has priority over any other information system used in the Union.
Another very important reason why our access to SIS is of particular importance and brings added value to our country, is the increased possibilities it offers in terms of managing and combating illegal immigration, since we know the worrying dimensions that this problem has taken in our country. The use of the SIS, and in particular the registration of entry/return refusal decisions, succeeds in preventing and discouraging irregular migration. Therefore, the phenomenon of readmission of the same persons, third-country nationals, to the territory of the Republic of Cyprus will also be combated. An important parameter is the fact that the face check in the SIS will also be done through fingerprints, thus preventing the offender from achieving entry into our country by changing his data.
-What is happening now in our country, is there a gap in security until the system is acquired?
- First of all, I would like to thank you for your question. The answer is simple and clear. Today, there is no gap in security in our country. On the contrary, as police we do a great deal in the field of international police cooperation, which is not visible to citizens or commonly known. Let me say that, in this context, we make full use of the tools/services provided to its Member States, by Europol, as well as by Interpol. For example, since 2019, we have permanently seconded Europol experts (also known as Guest Officers) to our country, who provide valuable assistance by providing expertise on monitoring irregular migrants. In the same way, we also have specialists from the FRONTEX Agency stationed at our airports, providing similar services. At the same time, frontline police officers have been given direct access to the Europol and Interpol databases, for immediate use and real-time utilization of the available information of these Agencies.
Besides, it is no coincidence that both the Executive Director of Europol, Mrs. Catherine De Bolle, and the Secretary General of Interpol, Mr. Jürgen Stock, in their public statements stated that the Cyprus Police is a very important partner of theirs and that crime in Cyprus is at low levels compared to other countries. As the strongman of the International Police (Interpol) very characteristically stated, "Interpol's cooperation with the Cyprus Police is one of the best in the global police community and the International Cooperation Department of the Cyprus Police is a model for many countries in the world". On the other hand, the Director of Europol pointed out that "Cyprus enjoys the lowest crime rate among all EU Member States. Cyprus is a valuable and reliable partner for EUROPOL."
We have the most powerful weapon in European police cooperation
-How will the interconnection of our country with the Schengen Information System affect the daily lives of Cypriots?
- Main message: July 25th will be a historic day for the Police and by extension for our country, since we acquire the most powerful weapon in the field of European Police Cooperation. This development will have as a direct impact the more effective fight against both national and cross-border crime, by adopting fast and flexible procedures. Therefore, the Cypriot citizen and those in Cyprus will be and will feel safer.
In order to speak in plain language and to be more comprehensible, I have selected two short examples, which demonstrate the added value that obtaining the SIS will bring.
>Example 1: In a small town in Poland, local police are investigating a complaint of sexual abuse of a minor. After several days, the Polish authorities' interrogations lead to the perpetrator of this heinous crime. He is a Romanian national, 40 years old, who lives and works in Poland. The Polish police officer investigating the case puts all the information he has into the SIS System. Once the available information enters the System, in real time (i.e. in a few seconds), it is visible in all EU Member States, including Cyprus.
At the same time, a Cypriot police officer, who while on patrol in the area of the Police Station where he works, responds to an incident of fighting several persons. During the routine verification of the data of the persons concerned, it shall detect in the SIS system that the person in front of it is the same person wanted by the Polish authorities for the offence of sexual exploitation of a minor. It also sees that in the System there is other additional information on the same criminal, which was included in the SIS by the German police, about an armed robbery in which civilians were injured. There is also a note that this is a particularly violent and dangerous person, who deserves special attention and handling by the Police, wherever he is located. The same person is also wanted by his country (Romania), due to his involvement in a large number of burglaries and thefts. The knowledge of all this information by the member of the Cyprus Police enables him to handle it in the most appropriate way, following the prescribed procedures and protocols of actions.
The above case is a classic example of the added value that the acquisition of this powerful weapon by our Police will bring. Undoubtedly, it is an important multi-tool, which can and will be used to the fullest, both to enhance the security of the law-abiding citizen, but also to protect our own police officers, since with its proper use, they will know in real time whether the person they are facing is dangerous for their physical safety or that of the public.
In the above case, a dangerous criminal, with parchments in serious crime (rapist, burglar, robber, etc.) would freely continue his illegal activity in our country, posing an immediate danger to public safety. We could very well be talking about a suspected terrorist, or suspected of committing an economic crime, an irregular migrant, an asylum seeker in another EU country, who rejected his application and came to Cyprus to resubmit the same application, etc.
You declare when you find your travel documents
>Example 2: In the summer I fly with my family to Italy for our summer holidays. I should note that two weeks ago I lost my passport and went to the Police of the area where I live, where I declared it. Fortunately, even before I started the process of issuing a new passport, I found it.
All ready for the trip. However, as soon as we arrived at Rome airport, during passport control carried out by the Italian policeman, it was detected in the SIS that my passport was still reported as lost. Although I explained to him what had happened, however, the Italian police officer had to follow the prescribed procedure to confirm my claims, with the Cyprus Police (National SIRENE Bureau), in order to be able to allow me to enter his country. This resulted in inconvenience for the whole family, who waited a long time, and there was a risk that I would not be allowed to enter Italy and thus be forced to return to Cyprus.
All this inconvenience was the result of not reporting to the Police that I found my lost passport, so the information that the police officer put in the System about the loss continued to exist after I had it in my possession again.
The above is a real example, which, based on our experiences, we expect to face to a fairly large extent, with the interconnection of Cyprus with the Schengen System, on 25/07/2023. I believe that because we will be going through peak season, due to the summer holidays, there will be increased such incidents. Therefore, I urge all those who lost their travel documents (passports or identity cards) or have been stolen, and subsequently found them, to go immediately to the nearest Police Station and report their finding, to avoid inconvenience and other unwanted situations. This applies especially to Cypriot students studying abroad, as well as to Cypriot nationals permanently residing in other countries.
24 Cypriot police officers at posts abroad
The Superintendent also emphasizes:
Something worth mentioning is that since its establishment, today the Cyprus Police has the largest number of members posted abroad, with some of them holding positions in important decision-making centers. Today, a total of 24 Cypriot police officers serve abroad, namely at Europol headquarters in The Hague, Interpol Headquarters in Lyon, European missions in Georgia, FRONTEX in Warsaw, Eurojust in the Netherlands, the European Public Prosecutor's Office (EPPO) in Luxembourg, the Permanent Representation of Cyprus and the European Parliament in Brussels, as well as the Embassy of the Republic in Athens. And all this, at a time when the problem of lack of personnel, combined with the increase in the duties / obligations of the Police, is more evident than ever. Indicatively, despite the continuous efforts of the Chief of Police and the rest of the leadership, today the vacancies in the Corps are over 700, with all the negative consequences.
Having said that, I would like to stress that when it comes to public safety and the improvement of our services to the Cypriot citizen, we are not complacent or complacent. There is certainly room for improvement and there always will be. We know very well that, even when a modern Agency does everything it needs to do, if it stagnates, developments will catch up with it and overtake it. As I said at the beginning of my interview, the acquisition of the new generation Schengen Information System (SIS Recast) should further improve the security we offer citizens and make us clearly more efficient.
Our country is internationally recognized as one of the safest attractive tourist destinations, a sector in which we invest. Our aim is not only to keep Cyprus safe, but also to maximize the sense of trust towards the authorities of all citizens (tourists and non-tourists).
