Crime is becoming increasingly international.

While the Internet and better transport links make life so much easier for the ordinary citizen it is also a huge benefit to the criminal class who can communicate and even commit crimes across borders.

Fortunately policing has also moved into the 21st Century and long gone are the days when the extent of crime-fighting was the friendly, local constable arresting the village drunk. Indeed police forces across the globe are spending more and more in a bid to try and always stay one step ahead of fraudsters and international criminal organisations.

Part of this effort includes sharing knowledge and working with other agencies so that they can all work more effectively and are not combating crime in isolation.

As a Member State of the European Union the UK benefits from such an arrangement and is an important player when it comes to putting a stop to crime across Europe. This mutually beneficial arrangement could, however, come to an end when the UK leaves the European Union.

Doing so would put the country at a major disadvantage and leave the world’s oldest police force operating in the dark at a time when the threat of terrorism is real and significant.

Carrying on with the current system is perhaps one of the few things that those on the Leave and Remain side of the debate can agree on. Security and terrorism were only ever an issue in the context of immigration and you would be hard-pressed to find anyone who cast their vote on the basis of the present security deal during the referendum. The EU itself would also lose out if the deal simply expired and co-operation with the UK on such matters became difficult and time-consuming.

It is unsurprising then that Theresa May’s government is keen to come to an arrangement fairly soon on law enforcement as it would be substantive evidence of progress on Brexit discussions ahead of a party conference season where questions are being asked by the Tory faithful about her leadership credentials.

Unfortunately if we know one thing about Brexit then it is that things are never as easy as they seem.

Both the Labour party and the Lib Dems have criticised the government’s plans on the basis that it would end the jurisdiction of the Court of Justice of the European Union when it comes to such matters. This might also prove to be a sticking point for the negotiators on the European Union side especially if there are no detailed plans for an alternative means of settling disputes.

Ultimately the primary consideration has to be the safety of the public. As crime has changed over the years the UK has remained at the forefront of policing but an important part of that is our partnership with other European police forces and Europol (the EU’s own agency for co-operation on law enforcement). To lose or undermine that relationship in any way would be a real blow and the only people who would benefit are the criminals themselves.