Prior to the opening of the conference, INTERPOL President Jackie Selebi and Secretary General Ronald K. Noble were awarded the Order of Merit of the Peruvian Police by Peru’s Interior Minister Felix Murazzo Carrillo in an elaborate outdoor ceremony.

LIMA, Peru – Senior police officials attending INTERPOL’s 18th Americas Regional Conference adopted a series of measures to enhance the effectiveness of their fight against transnational crime in the region.

The three-day meeting in Lima from 21-23 June brought together police officers from 29 countries as well as observers from other regions and international organizations.

Resolutions approved by conference delegates include:

• ensuring that all inquiries to INTERPOL National Central Bureaus by national law enforcement agencies are routinely checked against INTERPOL’s central databases on fugitives, suspected terrorists, fingerprints, stolen travel documents, stolen motor vehicles, etc.;
  
  
• expanding the use of INTERPOL’s global police communications system, I-24/7, beyond INTERPOL National Central Bureaus to locations such as airports and border crossings in the region to allow databases to be immediately checked by frontline officers;
  
  
• providing increased support for a series of ongoing INTERPOL regional operational projects targeting intellectual property crime and counterfeiting, drug traffickers, criminal gangs and terrorists (Operation Jupiter, Operation Andes, Project Maras and Project Amazon);
  
  
• contributing more information to INTERPOL’s criminal databases and increasing information and intelligence exchange;
  
  
• extending the hours of operation of INTERPOL’s National Central Bureaus in the region and implementing the regular exchange and review of good practice standards.

'The conference provided an important opportunity for police in the Americas region to exchange ideas and decide what new tools, procedures and operations are needed,' INTERPOL Secretary General Ronald K. Noble said. 'Frontline police officers working closely with INTERPOL’s National Central Bureaus is the best combination to effectively combat international crime and terrorism.

'One of the most effective tools against international criminals and terrorists is shared information and co-operation among police around the world.'

INTERPOL President Jackie Selebi said: 'Today, the threats of transnational crime and terrorism respect neither boundaries nor national borders. These new security threats emphasise the need for greater and more effective co-operation, not only among local police units but also between national and international law enforcement agencies.'

INTERPOL is the world’s largest international police organization, with member countries on five continents. It was established in 1923 to enhance international police co-operation and combat cross-border crime.