INTERPOL

NATIONAL LEGAL FRAMEWORKS

• INTERPOL is an intergovernmental organization whose mission is

to facilitate international police cooperation. It has a legal
personality that is separated from the member countries, and is
governed by international law.
• It operates in the arena of international police cooperation is
governed by rules and principles.
• Organized Crime unit works hand in hand with all of INTERPOL’s
police services to identify major figures involved in transnational
crime, the associated criminal networks and their activities.
INTERNATIONAL LEGAL FRAMEWORK

• The Global Policing Goals focus the

collective efforts of the international law
enforcement community to create a safer
and more sustainable world for future
generations.
THE GLOBAL POLICING GOALS FOCUS THE COLLECTIVE EFFORTS
OF THE INTERNATIONAL LAW ENFORCEMENT COMMUNITY TO
CREATE A SAFER AND MORE SUSTAINABLE WORLD FOR FUTURE
GENERATIONS.
NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL
RESPONSES
• Specialized teams can assist national law enforcement in responding to incidents or in
securing major events.
• Incident Response Teams
• An INTERPOL Incident Response Team (IRT) is a team of experts deployed at the
request of a member country during a crisis situation. There are two types of IRT:
• Disaster – an emergency response to unforeseen catastrophic events, such as large-scale
accidents or natural disasters. Disaster IRTs generally provide
disaster victim identification (DVI) assistance;
• Crime – the deployment of specialized personnel to assist and support a member
country faced with a major or serious police issue. Crime IRTs provide specific
expertise and investigative support to police.
NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL
RESPONSES
• Expert assistance
• The composition of the team is tailored to the specific nature of the disaster or crime and the
requirements of the requesting country. Thanks to our extensive network of experts, we can
mobilize highly specialized and trained personnel from member countries and our General
Secretariat.
• IRTs provide a range of investigative and analytical support at the incident site such as:
• Issuing international notices for fugitive terrorists wanted for arrest;
• Database queries of fingerprints or facial recognition to quickly identify suspects;
• Access to the database of stolen and lost travel documents;
• Checks for counterfeit passports;
• Money laundering expertise;
• Coordination of response to disaster victim identification through a wide network of international
experts and laboratories.
NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL
RESPONSES
• Major Event Support Teams
• An INTERPOL Major Event Support Team (IMEST) is deployed to assist member
countries in the preparation, coordination and implementation of security arrangements
for major international events.
• Events such as high profile conferences or sporting events attract large crowds or
intense media coverage. As such, they may also attract individuals or groups intending
to disrupt such events to gain attention for their cause or for criminal purpose.
• The threat of terrorism and event disruption has forced host countries to dedicate more
time and resources to be prepared to cope with any situation. Increasingly, member
countries are requesting support from INTERPOL, not only in the lead up to an event
but for its duration.
NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL
RESPONSES
• NATIONAL ACTION PLAN
• 1: Serve as the worldwide information hub for law enforcement cooperation
• The exchange of police information lies at the core of our mandate and we connect the National Central Bureaus
of our member countries via our secure communication channels.
• We continue to reinforce our technical infrastructure, expanding access to our services and enabling
interoperability with other relevant information systems.
• There are currently 90 million records in our databases. Police worldwide conduct 4.6 billion searches per year
(equivalent to 170 queries per second) with a response time of 0.5 seconds for a ‘hit’.
• 2: Deliver state-of-the-art policing capabilities that support member countries to fight and prevent transnational
crimes
• We seek to serve as the catalyst for efforts in global, regional, national, and local law enforcement. We offer a
range of policing capabilities and expertise – such as databases, forensics and training.
• The I-Core project (INTERPOL’s Capabilities for Operational Relevance) is evaluating the range of services we
offer our membership to ensure it will meet tomorrow’s global policing needs. I-Core will develop a framework
of common criteria which will be used to produce an agile portfolio of effective policing capabilities.
NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL
RESPONSES
• 1: Serve as the worldwide information hub for law enforcement cooperation
• The exchange of police information lies at the core of our mandate and we connect the National Central
Bureaus of our member countries via our secure communication channels.
• We continue to reinforce our technical infrastructure, expanding access to our services and enabling
interoperability with other relevant information systems.
• There are currently 90 million records in our databases. Police worldwide conduct 4.6 billion searches per
year (equivalent to 170 queries per second) with a response time of 0.5 seconds for a ‘hit’.
• 2: Deliver state-of-the-art policing capabilities that support member countries to fight and prevent
transnational crimes
• We seek to serve as the catalyst for efforts in global, regional, national, and local law enforcement. We offer
a range of policing capabilities and expertise – such as databases, forensics and training.
• The I-Core project (INTERPOL’s Capabilities for Operational Relevance) is evaluating the range of services
we offer our membership to ensure it will meet tomorrow’s global policing needs. I-Core will develop a
framework of common criteria which will be used to produce an agile portfolio of effective policing
CASE STUDY
• Case Study: Interpol Working with Broadcast Media, Operations VICO and IDent In 2004, police in Germany
were conducting a criminal investigation which resulted in the service of a search warrant on a storage locker.
The police discovered several hundred pictures of a man engaged in sexual acts with young boys. The photos
were also discovered online and the abuser’s face was obscured by a swirl. Specialists from the
Bundeskriminalamt (BKA) in Germany, working with INTERPOL’s Crimes against Children unit, were able to
use new technology to “un-swirl” the photographs and produce an identifiable image. Despite extensive global
efforts to identify and locate this individual through INTERPOL’s network of (then) 186 National Central
Bureaus and specialist units, the man’s identity and nationality remained unknown. The decision was made to
enlist the support of the media and the public to identify the abuser. A risk assessment was carried out
identifying both the pros and the cons in launching the campaign, as this would be the first time INTERPOL
had conducted such a public appeal. On 8 October, 2007, the appeal went live. Both the original and ‘un-
swirled’ photographs of the suspect were published on INTERPOL’s website and issued to media as part of a
press release. The response was immediate and global. All major television broadcasters were carrying the story
and showing the images, in addition to online media also reproducing the image and linking to INTERPOL’s
website. The appeal attracted worldwide attention with millions of hits on INTERPOL’s website - 20 times
more than the average daily audience for the website – and more than 350 people contacted INTERPOL with
potential leads. It was as a result of information provided by five different sources from three continents, that
the suspected child abuser labeled ‘Vico’ was identified as Christopher Paul Neil, a man teaching English at a
school in South Korea.
• . Within just three days of launching the appeal, working with its National Central Bureaus around the world,
INTERPOL had established the suspect's name, nationality, date of birth, passport number, and current and previous
places of work. Neil fled South Korea in an attempt to evade capture, but was arrested by the Royal Thai Police in a
northeast province of Thailand on 19 October – just 11 days after the appeal started. He was subsequently convicted
and sentenced to six years and six months in prison. He was then sent back to Canada where he was arrested by the
Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) under Canada’s sex tourism laws. Following the success of Operation
VICO in 2007, INTERPOL’s General Assembly – the Organization’s supreme governing body - approved a
resolution empowering the organization to publish information to request the public’s assistance in child sex abuse
investigations. In 2008, INTERPOL was once again asking for media and public assistance in identifying a man
pictured sexually abusing children in a series of images found on the Internet and retrieved from the computer of a
convicted pedophile in Norway in March 2006. The man, whose name, nationality and location were unknown, was
featured in approximately 100 images in a series of around 800, which were believed to have been taken in Southeast
Asia. The images depicted the sexual abuse of at least three boys aged between six and 10 years old. Once again the
media and public responded in a big way. Within 48 hours, and as a result of three separate tips provided to
INTERPOL Headquarters in Lyon, France the suspect Wayne Nelson Corliss, 58, from Union City, New Jersey, was
identified, located and arrested in Union City by Special Agents from US Immigration and Customs Enforcement
(ICE). Both appeals highlighted the results which can be used when engaging the media in public appeals. As
INTERPOL’s Secretary General Ronald K. Noble said at the conclusion of the operation; “Two days ago, this man’s
nationality, identity and location were totally unknown. All we had to go by were a series of graphic photographs in
which the suspect was seen sexually abusing young children and our confidence that the public and police worldwide
would once again respond to INTERPOL’s call for assistance. That two days later, the primary suspect is now in
custody is an outstanding achievement and a credit to the citizens, media and law enforcement worldwide who
responded to INTERPOL’s call.”