The Interpol and its functions

What are different Interpol notices? Your questions answered

  • The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) have approached the Interpol to bring back fugitive economic offenders such as Nirav Modi, Mehul Choksi and Vijay Mallya, who are living abroad, thus putting the spotlight on the international organisation.

Here is a low down on the Interpol.

What is Interpol?

  • Interpol is the shorter and better known name of the International Criminal Police Organization, a network comprising 192 member nations, including India.
  • The agency, with its headquarters in Lyon, France, was established in 1923. It’s website says, “Our role is to enable police around the world to work together to make the world a safer place. Our high-tech infrastructure of technical and operational support helps meet the growing challenges of fighting crime in the 21st century.”
  • The Interpol’s current President is Meng Hongwei, Deputy Minister of Public Security of China, while its Secretary-General is Jürgen Stock, the former deputy head of Germany’s Federal Criminal Police Office.

Since when has India been a member?

  • India has been a member since 1956. Like any member nation, India maintains a National Central Bureau which serves as the national platform for cooperation between domestic law enforcement units and the international police community. The NCB is the designated contact point for the Interpol. India has collaborated with the Interpol in tackling a myriad of organised crimes such as poaching, wildlife trafficking, spurious drugs and fake medicine rackets, among others.

What does Interpol do?

  • The Interpol basically connects police across the world even if these individual member nations do not have diplomatic relations. The Interpol facilitates information exchange, knowledge sharing and research between nations. This is done by issuing colour-coded ‘notices’ in four languages – English,Spanish, French, and Arabic. The Interpol doesn’t have law enforcement powers such as arrest. When a member nation approaches it with a specific request backed with court orders, the Interpol sends it out to other countries. The information received is sent back to the country.

What are different Interpol notices?

Red Notice

  • A Red Notice is a request to locate and provisionally arrest an individual pending extradition. It is issued by the General Secretariat at the request of a member country or an international tribunal based on a valid national arrest warrant. However, the arrest of the fugitive is based on the rule of the member nation where he or she is located.

Yellow Notice

  • A Yellow Notice is issued to help locate missing persons, often minors, or to help identify persons who are unable to identify themselves. This is highly useful in cases of human trafficking or in case of missing persons due to calamities

Blue Notice

  • A Blue Notice is issued to collect additional information about a person’s identity, location or activities in relation to a crime. This does not guarantee extradition or arrest of the person.

Black Notice

  • A Black Notice is a request to seek information on unidentified bodies in member nations.

Green Notice

  • A Green Notice is issued to provide warnings and intelligence about persons who have committed criminal offences and are likely to repeat these crimes in other countries.

Orange Notice

  • An Orange Notice is issued to provide warnings about warn of an event, a person, an object or a process representing a serious and imminent threat to public safety.

Purple Notice

  • A Purple Notice is a request to seek or provide information on the modus operandi, objects, devices and concealment methods used by criminals. Last year the Interpol issued such notices to highlight human trafficking and modern day slavery prevalent in the fisheries sector.

INTERPOL-United Nations Security Council Special Notice

  • The INTERPOL-United Nations Security Council Special Notice is issued for individuals and entities that are subject to sanctions imposed by the United Nations Security Council. Its principal function is to alert national law enforcement authorities that sanctions such as assets freeze, arms embargo, and travel ban apply to designated individuals and entities.

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