What are we going to do? 

New law enforcement information sharing agreements with international partners will provide law enforcement officers with access to new intelligence to fight crime. These agreements will help keep the public safe from the threat posed by international criminality and cross-border crime and help protect vulnerable people.  

This legislation will provide powers to implement operational and technical aspects of new international law enforcement information-sharing agreements via regulations.  That means new crime fighting capabilities will be available to law enforcement officers as early as possible, that officers will have complete clarity of new requirements placed upon them, and that regulations can be updated as technology develops.  

One example envisaged in relation to new international law enforcement agreements, is an agreement enabling a data sharing process where international partners’ relevant authorities search a UK ‘alert store’. This will be delivered through the ‘International Law Enforcement Alerts Platform (I-LEAP)’ and has potential to go beyond anything that previously existed in this space, enhancing the use of INTERPOL and introducing new alert sharing capabilities with international partners.  

How are we going to do it? 

The bill creates a power to make regulations implementing international agreements relating to the sharing of information for law enforcement purposes.  This will provide powers to implement operational and technical aspects of such international agreements via secondary legislation once the agreements have been negotiated. This measure will include a concurrent power for the devolved governments for matters within their legislative competence. 

Background 

There is need for new domestic legislation to enable the UK and devolved governments to give effect, through regulations, with power to create secondary legislation with sufficient detail to enable each agreement’s technical implementation. Such legislation will provide:  

• operational certainty so operational partners are explicitly aware of their obligations

• legal assurance to international partners that the risk of non-compliance will be mitigated, because international partners often require or at least prefer that agreements have a basis in UK legislation, not in common law, as the common law is not a familiar concept to some.  

Frequently asked questions 

What benefits will new international agreements deliver?  

International agreements for the exchange of law enforcement information can vary in terms of their specific aims. This measure specifically relates to the implementation of such agreements. 

New agreements will increase public protection and reduce the threat of societal harm posed by international criminality by providing law enforcement with new data, for example, in the form of international alerts to support their crime fighting activities.  

One example envisaged in relation to new international law enforcement agreements is real-time alert-sharing, which will reduce decision-making time, support the accuracy of operational decisions and inform next steps taken by front-line officers to confirm a subject’s identity at the scene.  

What will be included in subsequent regulations? 

This is dependent on the outcome of discussions with international partners.  However, we expect regulations to set out the technical requirements of new international agreements which will enable the operationalisation of the international law enforcement agreement.  

For example, this could include stipulating the technology that should be used to share data, timescales within which data should be shared, and actions to taken upon receipt of data. 

Why do you need a delegated power? 

This legislation will provide powers to implement technical aspects of new law enforcement information-sharing agreements via regulations.  That means new crime fighting capabilities will be available to law enforcement officers as early as possible, once a new international agreement has been reached.  

It also means that UK law enforcement officers will have complete clarity of the new requirements placed upon them and that the regulations setting out these requirements can be updated, as technology develops. Having the relevant delegated power available will prevent any undue delay in implementing the operational benefits of a new information-sharing agreement. 

This provision will use negative procedure for subsequent regulations. The international treaty preceding the use of the delegated power would be subject to Constitutional Reform and Governance Act procedures.