How is Interpol governed?

INTERPOL

What is Interpol?

Interpol is the world’s largest international police organization with 181 member countries. It was established in 1923 to promote cross-border police cooperation.

Interpol’s mission is to help police organizations around the world to work together to combat crime.

What does Interpol do?

Interpol does not have power to arrest or investigate crimes. Its function is to disseminate information. It receives, stores, analyzes and circulates criminal data in cooperation with its member countries around the clock in its four official languages (Arabic, English, French and Spanish).

Interpol’s principal target is the international criminal. There are three main categories of criminals:

- those who operate in more than one country, such as smugglers;

- criminals who do not travel but whose crimes affect other countries – for example, a counterfeiters of foreign bank notes;

- and criminals who commit a crime in one country and flee to another.

The organization is among the first to fight international terrorism and hijacking.

How does Interpol work?

Every member country has an Interpol contact point called a National Central Bureau (NCB). The NCB is the operational element of Interpol. Each member country employs its own officers to operate on its own territory.

How is Interpol governed?

Interpol is not under the control or supervision of any government. Its three main bodies are the General Assembly, the Executive Committee and the General Secretariat.

The General Assembly is Interpol’s supreme governing body. It is composed of delegates from each member country who meet once a year and take all the major decisions. Each member country has one vote.

The Executive Committee supervises the execution of the decisions of the General Assembly. It has thirteen members made up of the President, three Vice-Presidents and nine delegates.

The General Secretariat is Interpol’s business division. It contains the permanent departments which specialize in certain crimes:

- one handles murder, burglary, assault, larceny, car theft, and missing persons;

- another deals with bank frauds and other types of embezzlement;

- a third - with drug traffic;

- and a fourth - with forgery and counterfeiting.

The Secretariat is headed by the Secretary General who is the organization’s chief executive.

Interpol is one of the highly respected groups in the world. It operates according to a strict code of behavior and adheres to the highest ethical standards.

Notes:

1. Interpol’s current President is Jesus Espigares Mira, Spain

2. Interpol’s Current Secretary General is Ronald K. Noble, USA

Дата добавления: 2015-07-24