Home | Online Resources | UB Catalog | Campus Libraries | About UB Libraries | Forms | Search | Help

View PDF Version
Return to Index

The International Criminal Police Organization
INTERPOL

Point of Contact for International Law Enforcement

The INTERPOL - U.S. National Central Bureau (USNCB)

In the United States, authority for INTERPOL functions rests by law with the U.S. Attorney General. The USNCB is an office under the control and direction of the Departments of Justice and Treasury.

The USNCB serves as a police-to-police communications and intelligence network for both American and foreign police seeking assistance in criminal investigations that extend beyond their national boundaries. Known within the international community as INTERPOL Washington, the USNCB brings together U.S. police at all levels, providing a neutral territory where jurisdictions and mandates are interwoven to permit cooperation and assistance to the fullest extent possible.

USNCB assistance is granted equally to all U.S. federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, as well as to police authorities in INTERPOL member countries.

USNCB Structure and Activities

USNCB staffing consists of agents, computer specialists, analysts, translators, administrative and clerical support personnel. Most are employees of the Justice Department. The agents, however, are detailed to the USNCB for a specified period of time (generally two years) by federal and state law enforcement agencies. The agents operate in divisions dedicated to specific investigative areas: alien/fugitive, economic crimes, drugs, and terrorism and violent crimes. All of these major areas utilize the services and expertise of analysts who review the information contained in the USNCB case files. The analysts help to develop trends and patterns, and to establish links and interrelationships in complex criminal cases. The USNCB also houses the offices of Director, Deputy Director, General Counsel, the Administrative Services Division and the State/Local Liaison Division.

Liaison with State and Local Police

The increasing internalization of crime and the sheer volume of foreign nationals residing in or visiting the U.S. dictate the need for continued state and local police awareness of USNCB international services.

To address this need, each state, Washington, D.C., and New York City have established a point of contact to serve as the recipient of all international investigative requests. If the USNCB receives a foreign request for assistance that requires action by the police of a particular state, the request is forwarded by the USNCB to the liaison office within that state. The liaison office then funnels the request to the appropriate state or local entity for action. Conversely, a request that originates from a state law enforcement office can be sent either through the liaison office or directly to the USNCB for transmission to the appropriate foreign NCB. The liaison contact is also responsible for informing the police throughout the state of their affiliation with the USNCB and of the various ways in which INTERPOL can be used by state and local police.

USNCB Sub-Bureaus

In an effort to be responsive to all U.S. law enforcement interests, the USNCB, in cooperation with the local governing authorities, has established sub-bureaus in the. Caribbean and Pacific regions. Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands and American Samoa operate independently of the United States and have the authority to interact with all INTERPOL member countries. At conferences and symposia, however, they are considered part of the U.S. delegation.

International Notice Program

An integral part of the service INTERPOL provides to member country police forces is the dissemination of subject lookouts and advisories through the circulation of INTERPOL notices. These notices, color-coded to designate their specific purpose, are published at the request of a member country by the INTERPOL General Secretariat in the organization's four official languages and place an individual into the INTERPOL "international NCIC". The NCBs then receive and distribute the notices among appropriate law enforcement authorities within their respective countries. Ten different types of notices exist to communicate various kinds of criminal information.

The RED Notice - also known as an International Wanted Notice - enables member countries to inform their global counterparts that a warrant has been issued for a person whose arrest is requested with a view to subsequent extradition (fugitives). The Red Notice provides information on the identification of the subject and judicial aspects of the case. The Red Notice requires the prosecutor's certification that extradition costs will be incurred.

Law Enforcement Agencies Represented at the USNCB
(subject to change)

Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms
Drug Enforcement Administration
Environmental Protection Agency
Federal Bureau of Investigation
Financial Crimes Enforcement Network
Fish and Wildlife Service
Immigration and Naturalization Service
Internal Revenue Service
State/Local Police Representative
U.S. Customs Service
U.S. Department of Agriculture
U.S. Department Justice, Criminal Division
U.S. Department of State
U.S. Marshals Service
U.S. Mint
U.S. Postal Inspection Service
U.S. Secret Service

Contacting the USNCB

IMAGE]
Department of Justice in Washington DC.

INTERPOL: Worldwide Law Enforcement Cooperation

The concept of achieving cooperation among police agencies in different countries became a reality in 1923 with the creation of the International Criminal Police Organization known today as INTERPOL

As Article 2 of the INTERPOL constitution states, the aims of the organization are:

1. to ensure and promote the widest possible mutual assistance between all criminal police authorities within the limits of laws existing in the different countries and in the spirit of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights: and
2. to establish and develop all institutions likely to contribute effectively to the prevention and suppression of ordinary law crimes

To accomplish these goals. the organization invited all nations to join together in a voluntary exchange of information about crimes that transcend national boundaries and the criminals. who perpetrate such crimes.

This innovative concept of international cooperation was so successful that, despite a short period of disruption during the Second World War, the organization consistently flourished Today, INTERPOL's membership totals 179 nations.

INTERPOL does not maintain a force of International police officers or agents. Instead, INTERPOL serves as a conduit for a cooperative
exchange of criminal information to help detect and combat international crime Criminal investigations within one country which involve the citizens of another country are routed to or through INTERPOL for the purpose of coordination.

Just as importantly INTERPOL provides a forum for discussions, working group meetings and symposia to enable police from member countries to focus on specific areas of criminal activity affecting their country

How the Network Functions

The General Secretariat, In Lyon, France, is INTERPOL's center for coordinating the fight against international crime, Its staff comprises police officers and administrative and technical employees from forty countries. Its official languages are Arabic, English, French and Spanish. The General Secretariat is administered by the Secretary General who is responsible for its day-to-day activities.

Each participating country sets up a National Central Bureau (NCB) which serves as the country's point of contact with the international law enforcement community. Although staffing patterns arid size vary among NCBs, each country operates its NCB within the parameters of its own national laws arid policies.

Member countries abide by Article 3 of the INTERPOL constitution which states "It is strictly forbidden for the organization to undertake any intervention or activities of a political, military, religious, or racial character."

[IMAGE]
INTERPOL Headquarters in Lyons, France.

'INTERPOL' is registered with the U.S. Patent and Trade Office. Use of the INTERPOL name without authorization may carry Federal civil and criminal penalties. Use of the INTERPOL insignia without authorization may also carry Federal penalties.

April 2002