Regional activities
Frequently Asked Questions

	What is ‘regionalisation’?
	Why does Interpol have regions?
	What is the basis for regionalisation?
	What are the regions that Interpol should recognise?
	Services which could/should be delivered externally (regionally or otherwise)
	What are the roles and responsibilities of the Sub-Regional Bureaus?

What is ‘regionalisation’?

Why does Interpol have regions?

• Homogenous groups for message and information sharing;
• 5 main regions (Africa, Americas, Asia, Europe, and Middle-East and North Africa) for administrative convenience. Each of these regions holds a policy-level conference every other year (every year in Europe);
• Delegates to Interpol's Executive Committee are elected on a regional basis;
• Europe has its own Interpol secretariat and committee (European Liaison Bureau and Interpol European Committee). In Africa three sub-regions have established equivalent structures. Whereas the Interpol European Committee is representative of the region - eight members only - the African sub-regional committees have full representation by the chiefs of police of all countries in the respective sub-regions.

What is the basis for regionalisation?

• regions are identified on a geopolitical basis not simply geographical;
  
• some countries do not form part of a regional group but their interests must be catered for;
  
• Interpol aims to offer real, flexible, tailored solutions (e.g. ROCCISS - see Regional activities - Americas) to real and specific problems thus promoting ownership of the solutions by the ‘recipients’;
  
• recognition that many key services must continue to be delivered on a global basis;
  
• need to develop relationships at the political level;
  
• Interpol’s role will vary according to whether we establish our own structures or support other structures.

What are the regions that Interpol should recognise?

Regional geopolitical groupings that have been identified include:

Services which could/should be delivered externally (regionally or otherwise)

• identify law enforcement needs (nation or group) for central co-ordination and tailored solutions;
  
• technical support through personnel working with General Secretariat oversight to a global standard;
  
• training and development (co-ordination, standard setting and monitoring);
  
• facilitating access to training;
  
• co-ordination of operational activities within context of local priorities and action plans (locally controlled and owned);
  
• regional crime analyses and reports;
  
• proposal of or contributing to plans and strategies arising from regional analyses and reports;
  
• assist implementation of those plans and strategies;
  
• liaison/ problem-solving/ facilitating solutions (eg information blockages and communication difficulties);
  
• secretariat function (including for local/regional organization);
  
• identify technical needs of member countries with a view to finding solutions;
  
• enhancing two-way flow of information (general or for specific crime issues);
  
• promoting and facilitating Interpol solutions to identified needs;
  
• marketing and public relations;
  
• implement and monitor central policy on security and confidentiality;
  
• performance evaluation;
  
• identifying linked initiatives and taking steps to avoid overlap and duplication;
  
• positioning the organization in the regional political arena;
  
• meetings, conferences and committees (run, assist, identify need for new, attend);
  
• supporting organizations with linked or complementary objectives;

What are the roles and responsibilities of the Sub-Regional Bureaus?

The overall objective of the Sub-Regional Bureaus is to support member states (especially National Central Bureaus) in both their national and international efforts to deal with crime. The Sub-Regional Bureaus form an integral part of Interpol's General Secretariat whilst National Central Bureaus are national structures which operate under the authority of national administrations.

The role of the Sub-Regional Bureau takes on a particular importance when it sits within a regional structure comprising a committee of chiefs of police, sub-committees (e.g. legislation, training and operational activities) and the SRB as secretariat to that regional structure. This model has proved particularly successful in Southern Africa.

The responsibilities of the National Central Bureaus will not be reduced through the process of regionalisation but will be encouraged and assisted by the Sub-Regional Bureaus to reach the level of performance expected of them and to provide an effective service to all law enforcement partners in their respective countries. There is no intention to prescribe the need to create regional structures and so it is not inevitable that all National Central Bureaus will be members of an identified region. Equally there may be different models for Sub-Regional Bureaus according to their needs and the resources available to them.

Where there is no Sub-Regional Bureau in any given region the services listed above will nevertheless be provided by Interpol. Where other regional structures exist or are created, the potential for delivery of these Interpol services in partnership with those structures will always be an important consideration.