Immediate reporting – Security Architectures in the EU

The Schengen Information System allows alerts to be issued for „discreet checks“; the persons concerned should not be informed of this if possible. The number of these Article 36 searches has been increasing significantly for years. French and British police and intelligence services are mainly responsible for this.

The number of secret alerts in the Schengen Information System (SIS II) rose sharply last year as well, writes the German Federal Ministry of the Interior. This is possible according to Article 36 of the SIS II Council Decision, which enables alerts to be issued for „discreet checks“ or „specific checks“. If the persons concerned are found within the Schengen area, they are reported to the authority issuing the alert. National police laws also permit such measures, but not across borders. „Again strong increase for secret searches in Europe’s largest police database“ weiterlesen

Persons listed in the Schengen Information System may, inter alia, be observed or searched by the police. The numbers of these Article 36 alerts are increasing rapidly and are now being explained for the first time in detail. A new category „inquiry check“ is planned in the new regulation for the police database.

At the end of 2017, the Schengen Information System (SIS II) listed 129,412 persons in accordance with Article 36 of the SIS II Council Decision, compared with 96,108 the year before. 96,108 the article allows, on the one hand, listings for a „discreet check“, which the police officers should proceed discreetly and of which the persons concerned should not know anything. On the other hand, there is also the possiblity for a „specific check“, during which the wanted person, his/her luggage or the vehicle in which he/she travels, are searched. „Schengen searches to be extended“ weiterlesen