9 January 2009
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INTERPOL Americas Conference opens with call for 21st century approach to crime-fighting
Policing at the global level requires the same level of commitment, energy, resources and accountability by world leaders as dedicated to national policing, INTERPOL Secretary General Ronald K. Noble told senior police officials gathered for the three-day meeting. The need for governments to adopt a more international approach to policing was also endorsed by Colombia’s Minister of Interior and Justice Carlos Holguín Sardi during his opening speech, when he said: "This is a clear example of the importance of Interpol in guaranteeing the achievement of the goals our governments have set with regard to combating organized transnational crime. It would be unthinkable to set goals without involving such an important and effective organization as INTERPOL and even more unthinkable not to recognize the need for international co-operation to achieve those goals". Embracing a more global attitude to policing is a key issue for the conference, especially in relation to changes in crime areas traditionally associated with specific geographical areas. One example are the Maras; their activities such as weapons smuggling presenting a menace not only to the countries of their birth in Latin America, but now also to the United States, Canada and ultimately Europe. Similarly, successes by law enforcement officers in disrupting drug smuggling activities in the Caribbean have resulted in gangs using alternative routes, with western Africa now becoming a preferred transit point for the European market. “Crime should not be better organized than our efforts to counter it, and global terrorist networks should not be better co-ordinated than policing ones,” said INTERPOL Secretary General Ronald K. Noble. “Our challenge is to overcome the thought barrier between national and international policing. Only then can we become fully efficient at combating crime and terrorism throughout the world. “INTERPOL is committed to the task ahead, and the changes we have already implemented, such as enabling frontline officers to directly interrogate our global databases, and propose for the future, such as the creation of our Global and Regional Anti-Crime Centres, underline this commitment.” The INTERPOL Global and Regional Anti-Crime Centres will serve as a focal point for the sharing of expertise and international police training in addition to providing increased operational support to law enforcement throughout INTERPOL’s 186 member countries.
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