2007 – A year of ‘firsts’ for INTERPOL

INTERPOL’s first-ever global public appeal for information, new ways of opening up access to its databases to field officers by mobile phone and laptop, record numbers of searches and entries of its databases – these were just some of the main ‘firsts’ achieved by INTERPOL in 2007.

For the first time, all INTERPOL’s 186 member country National Central Bureaus (NCBs) became connected to a secure communications system, and the Caribbean became the world’s first region where field officers were connected directly to INTERPOL’s databases to provide security for the Cricket World Cup. Croatia became the first country to give its officers access via mobile phone and laptop.

Training was a highlight during the year, with an agreement signed to open the world’s first INTERPOL Anti-corruption academy in Vienna, while an Anti-Heroin-Smuggling centre was opened near Moscow and the first students of INTERPOL’s international police training programme graduated in March.

“2007 was an outstanding year not just for INTERPOL but for all the law enforcement officers it serves, and all these firsts were only made possible by the hard work and initiative of all INTERPOL staff and police worldwide,” said INTERPOL Secretary General Ronald K. Noble.

“These outstanding achievements will provide INTERPOL and each of its 186 National Central Bureaus with a strong platform for 2008 and beyond to continue our vital work in protecting citizens across the world.”

The following list highlights the major achievements of the year for INTERPOL staff at the General Secretariat, the Sub-Regional Bureaus and the National Central Bureaus, with support from law enforcement officers worldwide:

• Operation VICO was INTERPOL’s first ever public appeal for information as it published photos of an unknown man photographed sexually abusing young boys. Just 10 days later, the man was identified and arrested in Thailand. The appeal itself generated another record, with more than 1.6 million page views of INTERPOL’s website on 8 October, the day of the appeal.

• More than 3,000 Red Notices – international wanted persons notices – were issued in a single year.

• The Stolen and Lost Travel documents database reached nearly 14 million entries and the Stolen Motor Vehicles database more than four million.

• Police carried out more than one million searches of INTERPOL’s nominal database of criminals.

• More than 10 million messages were exchanged between the General Secretariat and its NCBs. October was a record month, with 1,053,607 messages.

• The first time all 186 member countries were connected to the same secure communications system was achieved on 10 July when NCB Mogadishu (Somalia) connected to I-24/7.

• Croatia became the first member country to expand access to INTERPOL’s databases via mobile phones and laptops.

• The Caribbean region became the first to be entirely connected to MIND/FIND as part of security arrangements put in place for the Cricket World Cup.

• The first graduates of INTERPOL’s international police training programme completed their training in March.

• More than 400 people were arrested across Asia following the first INTERPOL co-ordinated operation to combat illegal soccer gambling.

• INTERPOL ran its first joint operation (Amazon) with FRONTEX to combat illegal immigration into the EU from South America.

• INTERPOL hosted the first gathering of the Law Enforcement Advisory Group for the Central Banks Counterfeit Deterrence Group.

• INTERPOL and Austria signed a headquarters agreement for the creation of the INTERPOL Anti-Corruption Academy in Vienna – the first of its kind in the world.

• The INTERPOL Anti-Heroin Smuggling Training Centre opened in Domodedovo near Moscow in May.

• INTERPOL opened its liaison office at the Europol headquarters.

• 2007 saw an almost total (99 per cent) payment of statutory contributions from its member countries.