Fact sheets  Connecting Police: I-24/7      (Acrobat files)

One of INTERPOL’s core functions is to enable the world’s police to exchange information securely and rapidly. The organization’s I-24/7 global police communications system connects law enforcement officials in all 186 member countries and provides them with the means to share crucial information on criminals and criminal activities.

As criminals and criminal organizations are typically involved in multiple activities, I-24/7 can fundamentally change the way law enforcement authorities around the world work together. Pieces of seemingly unrelated information can help create a picture and solve a trans-national criminal investigation.

Using I-24/7, National Central Bureaus (NCBs) can search and cross-check data in a matter of seconds, with direct access to databases containing information on suspected terrorists, wanted persons, fingerprints, DNA profiles, lost or stolen travel documents, stolen motor vehicles, stolen works of art, etc. These multiple resources provide police with instant access to potentially important information, thereby facilitating criminal investigations.

The I-24/7 system also enables member countries to access each others’ national databases using a business-to-business (B2B) connection. Member countries manage and maintain their own national criminal data. They also have the option to make it accessible to the international law enforcement community through I-24/7.

Although I-24/7 is initially installed in NCBs, INTERPOL is encouraging member countries to extend their connections to national law enforcement entities such as border police, customs and immigration, etc. NCBs control the level of access other authorised users have to INTERPOL services and can request to be informed of enquiries made to their national databases by other countries.