13 May 2008
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About National Central Bureaus Each of INTERPOL’s member countries maintains a National Central Bureau (NCB) staffed by national law enforcement officers. The NCB serves as the designated contact point in each country for international police liaison with:
The role of an NCB is to participate in all of INTERPOL’s activities, providing constant and active co-operation – compatible with the laws of their countries – so that INTERPOL can achieve its aims. The NCB is typically one division of a member country’s national police agency or investigation service, or is under the jurisdiction of the ministry or department in charge of public security or justice. The head of the NCB is usually one of the highest-ranking law enforcement officials in the country. Depending on the country’s size, the NCB may have only two or three officers responsible for all INTERPOL-related activities, or several tens of officers, with specialists in terrorism, fugitives, high-tech crimes, or trafficking in human beings, drugs or stolen property. Larger NCBs may have their own legal counsel or crisis management centres to handle urgent requests from other countries. Officers working in the NCBs carry out their daily work in the pursuit of international police co-operation but remain employed by their national administrations. Regional issues To deliver services effectively to NCBs, INTERPOL groups its member countries into five working regions; Africa, Americas, Asia and South Pacific, Europe, and Middle East and North Africa. This allows NCBs to co-ordinate regional operational activities within the context of local priorities and action plans, to share best practices and to identify specific solutions to their law enforcement needs. Each region is supported by a sub-directorate at the General Secretariat. For statutory purposes, member countries are grouped into four regions – Africa, Americas, Asia and Europe – each of which holds a policy-level conference every one or two years to discuss matters of regional concern and to plan tailored solutions to regional issues. Each member country sends delegates to INTERPOL’s annual General Assembly, and each statutory region nominates delegates to the 13-member Executive Committee – mostly senior police chiefs. These two governing organs ensure that all regions have a say in the organization’s plans and strategies. NCBs then assist in the implementation of these plans and strategies, serving inter alia as a liaison point between national police forces and the INTERPOL community. The NCBs are supported by INTERPOL’s six Sub-Regional Bureaus to provide effective services to all law enforcement partners in their respective countries. NCB activities NCB activities at all levels – local, national, regional and international – focus on INTERPOL’s four core functions:
Each NCB is connected to INTERPOL’s secure police communications network I-24/7, which enables them to share crucial information on criminals and criminal activities 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Using I-24/7, NCBs can search and cross-check data in a matter of seconds, with direct access to databases of information on suspected terrorists, wanted persons, fingerprints, DNA profiles, lost or stolen travel documents, stolen motor vehicles, stolen works of art, etc. These multiple resources give law enforcement officials instant access to potentially important information, thereby facilitating criminal investigations. Although I-24/7 is initially installed in the NCB, INTERPOL is encouraging member countries to extend their connections to national law enforcement entities such as border police, customs and immigration, etc. NCBs control the level of access other authorised users have to INTERPOL services and can request to be informed of enquiries made to their national databases by other countries.
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