Lord Advocate hails EU membership in fight against crime

Membership of the European Union helps the fight against crime in Scotland, the Lord Advocate has said.

James Wolffe QC (pictured), said that the UK’s membership of Europol and the European Arrest Warrant (EAW) scheme had helped in prosecuting offenders in Scotland.

He made the comments during a visit from Julian King, European Commissioner for the Security Union, to the Scottish Crime Campus at Gartcosh, North Lanarkshire.

He said: “This was also a chance to demonstrate how Scotland benefits from the EU regime of criminal justice co-operation and to explain that we value our ability to contribute to it.”

More than 1,000 suspects have been sent to the UK from other EU states as a result of the EAW scheme which about 8,000 have been sent out of the UK.

Mr Wolffe added: “Collaboration across jurisdictional boundaries is an expression of our solidarity in protecting our societies and our people from harm, and of our common commitment to the effective and fair administration of justice.”

Commissioner King said: “There is now a shared understanding and willingness among all member states that we can best address today’s security challenges by working together. And it is widely accepted now that the EU can and should support this cooperation by providing technical means like our EU-wide law enforcement systems, by pooling resources and boosting expertise.”