Sub-Regional Bureaus

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Abidjan   Buenos Aires Harare Nairobi San Salvador Liaison Office Bangkok

INTERPOL has six Sub-Regional Bureaus (SRBs), which are permanent departments of the General Secretariat (see Article 25 of the Constitution) and were established to bring the General Secretariat closer to the regions.

There are SRBs in Abidjan (serving West Africa), Buenos Aires (South America), Harare (Southern Africa), Nairobi (East Africa) and San Salvador (Central America). In addition, there is a Liaison office in Bangkok, serving Southeast Asia.

The duties of the SRBs are the same as those of the General Secretariat, but each SRB deals with regional issues – based on its geographic proximity – since it is best placed to provide the most appropriate response in any particular situation.

Staffing

The SRB staff are generally recruited from within the region and their number and role can vary, depending on the specific needs, goals and priorities of each region. Generally, they comprise the following:

• Head of Bureau - responsible for applying the priorities of the organization and those of regional police chiefs committees where they exist;
• Specialized officers - police officers specialized in the different kinds of crime prevalent in each region;
• Network analyst – a technical officer responsible for providing technical support not only within the SRB but also to National Central Bureaus in the region;
• Crime analyst – provides analytical work on crimes in the region, related to work for the General Secretariat and for the regional police chiefs committees;
• Administrative support staff (secretary, driver, and security officer).

Legal status

The Sub-Regional Bureaus and their staff are subject to the same rules and provisions as the General Secretariat – these functions and duties are defined in Article 26 of the Constitution, in the Financial Regulations, Staff Regulations and Rules, etc. There are also provisions specific to the SRBs concerning, inter alia, the delegation of financial powers and the Staff Regulations, which take account of the differences from one duty station to another.

SRB activities

Select a link above for specific details of each SRB and its activities.

Sub-Regional Bureaus and National Central Bureaus

The SRBs should not be confused with the National Central Bureaus (NCBs), which are INTERPOL bureaus in each member country.

SRBs and Regional Police Chiefs Committees

The SRBs work with regional police chiefs committees where they exist. In Africa, the SRBs act as the permanent secretariats of the committees, as follows:

• Abidjan serves WAPCCO (West African Police Chiefs Committee) and CAPCCO (Central African Police Chiefs Committee). The future SRB in Yaoundé, Cameroon, will assume responsibility for CAPCCO.
• Harare serves SARPCCO (Southern African Regional Police Chiefs Co-operation Organization).
• Nairobi serves EAPCCO (East African Police Chiefs Co-operation Organization).

In other regions where police chiefs committees exist, the SRBs are building closer ties where relations have not been formally established. This is the case in:

• Asia, between the South-East Asia Liaison Office (LoBang) and ASEANOPOL (Association of South-East Asian Nations Chiefs of Police);
• Central America, between the SRB in San Salvador and the CJPCAC (Comisión de Jefes de Policía de Centro América y el Caribe - Commission of Chiefs of Police of Central America and the Caribbean).

Relations between the SRBs and the SPCPC (South Pacific Chiefs of Police Conference) and the ACCP (Association of Caribbean Commissioners of Police) are managed directly from the Organization's Headquarters in Lyon.

Modernization of the SRBs

INTERPOL began to modernize its SRBs in 2005 with a programme that involves standardizing working equipment, installing video-conference and IP telephone facilities, and giving them access to INTERPOL’s Intranet and message handling system. This process has speeded up the sharing of information and effectiveness among SRBs and with NCBs and the General Secretariat.