The Czech police have detained 900 wanted persons and found 400 people reported missing, including 115 children, since the Czech Republic joined the Schengen Information System (SIS) two years ago, according to the Police Presidium’s report released on Tuesday.
[praguemonitor.com] The SIS serves to the exchange of data on stolen items, lost documents and missing and wanted persons. The Czech Republic has used the system since the beginning of September 2007.
The police have also found over 1000 stolen cars and 1800 lost documents in the Czech Republic in two years.
Moreover, the SIS enables to check whether the arms that Czech citizens have handed over within the "arms amnesty" are searched elsewhere in Europe.
The SIRENE national central office in charge of Schengen-based cooperation between the member states is currently dealing with 21 interventions a day.
Since the SIS was launched in the Czech Republic, the police have put almost two million data entries into the system that can be shared in all 24 Schengen member states.
The EU has for long planned to replace the SIS with a more efficient information system that would comprise biometric data, such as finger prints, as well. However, its preparation has been hampered by technical problems.
The Czech Republic, and another nine countries, joined the Schengen system of free movement of people within the EU borders on December 21, 2007. Passport checks at airports were lifted on March 30, 2008.
Source: http://praguemonitor.com/2009/09/02/police-detain-900-wanted-people-thanks-schengen-system
