What will be the repercussions of Brexit on our membership of Interpol?

We’ve had help answering this question from our friends at the Institute for Government and UK in a Changing Europe.

None—the UK is a full member of Interpol in its own right and leaving the EU will not affect that.

However, as an EU member, the UK also participates in some European initiatives for policing cooperation. One is Europol, an organisation which coordinates joint working between EU police forces and supports EU countries in “their fight against terrorism, cybercrime and other serious and organised forms of crime”.

The UK government has said that the UK will continue to participate in Europol during the transition period which will run from March 2019 until December 2020 (if the withdrawal agreement is passed by parliament). The UK and the EU have agreed to discuss the UK’s future relationship with Europol after March 2019.

However, there is no guarantee that the UK will secure anything beyond the relationship other non-EU member countries like Norway and the USA have with Europol. According to the Institute for Government: “The countries with the closest security co-operation with the EU… do not have access to all EU databases, cannot participate fully in the operations of Europol, the EU’s police agency, and have more complicated extradition arrangements with the EU.”

This article is part of our Ask Full Fact series on Brexit, answering your questions about Brexit and the latest negotiations between the UK and the EU.

You can see all the questions we’ve answered so far here. If you want to ask us your own question, do that here.