World Bulletin
Tightening the Noose on Transnational Criminals
By Musikilu Mojeed
June 23 – Criminals on the run who cross international boundaries thinking that Interpol is hampered by regulations from hunting them down may have heard this news last week: the global police organization is about to use high-tech ID cards and services that will enable its officers to cross borders more easily in pursuit of bad guys.
Interpol Secretary-General Ronald Noble |
At a New York hotel, packed with United Nations officials, foreign correspondents and representatives of security-related businesses, Interpol’s secretary-general, Ronald Noble, discussed the introduction of the ID card, 48 hours before addressing a high-level meeting of the UN General Assembly on organized transnational crime, where he pressed countries to commit to more global action to fight the problem.
Noble said the new technology would create virtual international borders, enable countries to cooperate better to halt crime and terrorism and enhance global security.
“The deployment of our Global Smart eID card allows Interpol officers to cross borders more easily, and once in countries, they will be able to access global databases securely, something that's never been done before," he told UNA-USA at the event.
“We should now be able to set a virtual border in any location in the world.”
The technology was developed for Interpol by Entrust, an American company that provides identity-based security tools for corporations, individuals and Web sites. Its clients include the US Department of Homeland Security and passports of 30 countries. Entrust arranged the event in New York.
Noble said that the smartcard could mean that officers would be able to chase down criminals anywhere in the world without visa or other travel documents issued by the 188 countries that belong to Interpol.
"With this ID card technology, we'll no longer be restricted to doing screening at borders or at airports, but anywhere we go,” he said. "Therefore, any suspicious person or any person whose identity you want to identify, you can do it anywhere in the world. That's the greatest thing about this technology."
On a Test Run, Nabbing Criminals
The card, already tested by Pakistan, Brazil, Swaziland and Senegal, with more than 20 other countries about to sign on, went through a practice run that led to the arrest of some criminals in Sudan, Colombia, the US, United Arab Emirates, South Africa, Trinidad and Tobago and Sweden.
The technology, Noble said, has also been deployed in South Africa, where Interpol’s 47 officers there are working with the South Africa police to use the card to scan visitors to the World Cup at match venues, hotels and at borders.
At the General Assembly, Noble reiterated the case for law enforcement agencies in UN member countries to share information and cooperate with one another.
“International information sharing and constant law enforcement communication are the most effective – and efficient – strategy to turn borders from opportunities into obstacles to organized crime,” Noble said.
“It was rapid and secure communication that last week allowed police from Colombia, the United States, the United Arab Emirates and South Africa to work together through Interpol to locate – across three continents and in less than 18 hours – a young Colombian national feared to be a victim of traffickers in persons.”
Noble, 53, has led Interpol for 10 years; his name is mentioned as a possible successor to Robert S. Mueller III, the director of the FBI, who retires next year. At Interpol, Noble has introduced several innovative technologies, including the world’s first automated DNA database; a database to fight child pornography on the Internet; the first global police communications system as well as the first global database of stolen/lost passports and travel documents.
Noble has also strengthened Interpol’s cooperation with the UN, overseeing the opening of Interpol’s UN office and appointing a permanent representative to the world body.
The UN and Interpol have agreed to work together to enhance policing cooperation in post-conflict areas, and UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has called the two organizations “natural partners in boosting security and peace.”
Musikilu Mojeed is a Ford Foundation International Fellow at the City University of New York Graduate School of Journalism. He has reported for major Nigerian newspapers in Abuja and Lagos.
Keywords: Interpol, Entrust, United Nations, Global Smart ID card
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