Prüm Convention
Why is the Prüm Convention necessary?
Valuable information for police work, such as DNA profiles, fingerprints and vehicle owner data, is stored in national databases. If Swiss investigators find DNA traces at a crime scene, these are first compared with the national DNA database, which contains the DNA profiles of suspects or convicted criminals, as well as unidentified DNA traces found at crime scenes. If no match is found, the police can then compare the DNA traces with databases from other countries.
Currently, this process is complex and time-consuming, as it requires the cantonal police in Switzerland to first draft an INTERPOL information request detailing the case, which is then forwarded individually to other countries via fedpol. As these information requests often go unanswered, the cantonal police are unable to determine which countries possess information on a specific case and target their enquiries effectively
What will change under the Prüm Convention?
The Prüm Convention will allow the Swiss law enforcement authorities to make international requests for information faster and more efficiently. A single search will trigger an automated comparison of the databases of all participating EU countries, enabling Swiss law enforcement authorities to identify which countries may hold relevant information on a specific case. If a search for a particular DNA trace turns up a match in another country's database, the Swiss law enforcement authorities receive a direct notification and can request further information from that country.
Digital searches based on the Prüm Convention facilitate investigations, enabling the authorities to identify individuals beyond doubt and to establish links between criminal activities in Switzerland and abroad more quickly. Among other things, this makes it easier to detect the modus operandi used by criminal organisations.
Further development of the Prüm Convention
Ten years on, the European Union is seeking to further expand cooperation under the Prüm framework by revising the Prüm Convention. This will allow Switzerland to participate in Prüm cooperation (Prüm Plus) and share additional categories of data, including facial images and information on missing persons or human remains (Prüm II).
Catching criminals using DNA: Spectacular cases and the reality in Switzerland - Einstein - Play SRF (not available in english)