INTERPOL Washington Helps Countries Build Information Sharing Capacity

INTERPOL member countries Singapore, Malaysia, and the United States celebrate the successful conclusion of capacity building training.

During the first week of May 2017, Steve Somerville (left), INTERPOL Washington Development and Operations Team member, participated in a training event for INTERPOL member countries Singapore and Malaysia. The training, hosted by Singapore, gave INTERPOL Washington an opportunity to refine and troubleshoot the integration of I-24/7 services. The training was part of the Asian Regional Capacity Building Initiative designed to integrate the full suite of INTERPOL tools and services into each country’s existing national information technology infrastructure. Other participating countries are Indonesia, Thailand, and the Philippines.

The Asian Capacity Building Project initiative helps countries to:

Develop or enhance their ability to contribute stolen or lost travel document (SLTD) data to INTERPOL’s SLTD database;

Enhance border and immigration screening capabilities by integrating INTERPOL’s I-24/7 network; and

Use INTERPOL Washington expertise to help member countries develop the information technology infrastructure needed to connect to INTERPOL information.

This initiative helps member countries to meet their United Nations Security Council obligations to “… prevent the movement of terrorists and terrorist groups by effective border controls … and to “… improve international, regional, and sub-regional cooperation through increased sharing of information.”

INTERPOL Washington is committed to providing global technical assistance to increase the capacity and long-term sustainability to interdict the illicit international travel of Foreign Terrorist Fighters and other transnational criminals through the strategic application and utilization of INTERPOL information sharing tools.

A component of the U.S. Department of Justice, INTERPOL Washington—the U.S. National Central Bureau—is co-managed by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. As the designated representative to INTERPOL on behalf of the Attorney General, INTERPOL Washington serves as the national point of contact for all INTERPOL matters, coordinating international investigative efforts among member countries and the more than 18,000 local, state, federal, and tribal law enforcement agencies in the United States.