New Delhi: At a time of unabated financial crimes, cyber attacks, and crimes against children in India, the country’s law enforcement agencies will get an opportunity to interact with the law enforcement agencies of 194 member countries of the Interpol (International Criminal Police Organization) and share best practices to stop such crimes.
The 90th General Assembly of Interpol is scheduled to be held between October 18 and 21 in New Delhi. “This will be a major opportunity for India’s law enforcing agencies where they can share best practices in dealing with different crimes,” a senior government official told ETV Bharat.
The General Assembly is the international policing agency's supreme governing body, comprising representatives from each of the 195 member countries. It meets once a year and each member country may be represented by one or several delegates who are typically Ministers, Chiefs of Police, Heads of Interpol National Central Bureau (NCB) and senior ministry officials.
“It is due to the close coordination amongst member countries that we have been able to get hold of several Indian fugitives nabbed by the foreign security agencies,” the official said. In fact, the recent raids over child pornography and child sexual abuse under the code name “Megh Chakra” conducted by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) across 59 locations in 21 States and UT in India was also coordinated by Interpol.
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The official said that the purpose of the General Assembly is to ensure that Interpol's activities correspond to the needs of member countries. “The General Assembly also elects the members of the Executive Committee, the governing body which provides guidance and direction in between sessions of the Assembly,” the official said.
Headquartered in Lyon, France, Interpol was founded in 1923 as the International Criminal Police Commission (ICPC). The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is designated as the National Central Bureau of India for Interpol.
All the Central and State law enforcement agencies in India have a link through Interpol New Delhi to all law enforcement agencies in 194 other member countries, through Interpol Global Communications System (I-24/7) for seeking and providing assistance in dealing with criminal investigations.
“The increasing frequency of crimes with transnational linkages requires closer coordination among law enforcement agencies globally. There is a daily inflow and outflow of communications between Interpol New Delhi and the National Central Bureau of member countries which ranges from a compassionate request to locate and notify the next-of-kin of a death; request to search for a missing person; criminal history requests; requests from law enforcement agencies for informal assistance in case of fraud, commercial crime, trafficking in narcotics drugs, and criminal code offences,” the official said.
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The International Criminal Police Organisation works to ensure that police around the world have access to the tools and services necessary to do their jobs effectively. The organization provides targeted training, expert investigative support, relevant data and secure communication channels.
The Interpol NCB-New Delhi is connected to the agency's network through the secure I 24x7 network. Countries use this secure network to contact each other, and the Interpol General Secretariat. It also allows them to access the agency's databases and services in real-time, from both central and remote locations.
The organization also coordinates with networks of police and experts in different crime areas, who come together through working groups and at conferences to share experiences and ideas. The agency provides its member countries with instant, direct access to a wide range of criminal databases, containing millions of records on fingerprints, DNA, stolen motor vehicles, firearms, stolen and lost travel documents and more.
