1.5.Staff
1.5.1.Knowledge
SIRENE Bureau staff shall have linguistic skills covering as wide a range of languages as possible and on-duty staff shall able to communicate with all SIRENE Bureaux.
They shall have the necessary knowledge on:
national, European and international legal aspects,
their national law enforcement authorities, and
national and European judiciary and immigration administration systems.
They need to have the authority to deal independently with any incoming case.
Operators on duty outside office hours shall have the same competence, knowledge and authority and it should be possible for them to refer to experts available on-call.
Legal expertise to cover both normal and exceptional cases should be available in the SIRENE Bureau. Depending on the case, this may be provided by any personnel with the necessary legal background or experts from judicial authorities.
1.5.2.Recruitment
The responsible national recruiting authorities have to take all the above skills and knowledge into consideration when recruiting new staff and, consequently, organise in-service training courses or sessions at both national and European level.
A high level of experienced staff leads to a workforce able to function on their own initiative and thereby able to handle cases efficiently. Therefore a low turnover of personnel is desired, which requires the unambiguous support of management to create a devolved working environment.
1.5.3.Training
National level
At the national level, sufficient training shall ensure that staff meets the required standards laid down in this Manual. Before being authorised to process data stored in the SIS II, staff shall in particular receive appropriate training about data security and data protection rules and shall be informed of any relevant criminal offences and penalties.
European level
Common training courses shall be organised at least once a year, to enhance cooperation between SIRENE Bureaux by allowing staff to meet colleagues from other SIRENE Bureaux, share information on national working methods and create a consistent and equivalent level of knowledge. It will furthermore make staff aware of the importance of their work and the need for mutual solidarity in view of the common security of Member States.
1.5.4.Exchange of staff
As far as possible, SIRENE Bureaux shall also foresee setting up staff exchanges with other SIRENE Bureaux at least once a year. These exchanges are intended to help improve staff knowledge of working methods, to show how other SIRENE Bureaux are organised and to establish personal contacts with colleagues in other Member States.
This text is identical to the text in the Annex to Commission Decision 2008/333/EC (see page 4 of this Official Journal).