INTERPOL Washington, U.S National Central Bureau (USNCB) is the official U.S. representative to the International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL) as designated by the U.S. Attorney General. USNCB serves as the national point of contact for INTERPOL matters and coordinates international investigative cooperation between INTERPOL’s 188 member countries and the more than 18,000 federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies in the United States.
USNCB is co-managed by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and staffed with sworn law enforcement personnel detailed from federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies who work side by side with full-time DOJ employees serving as analysts, translators, technicians and administrators.
INTERPOL is an international organization whose mission is to facilitate the exchange of police information and promote cooperation and assistance between law enforcement authorities of its 188 member countries, including the United States. INTERPOL provides investigative resources to its member countries and their law enforcement officials. These resources include a secure communications network and databases containing information supplied by its member countries on wanted persons, persons with criminal histories, persons involved in criminal activity, missing persons, stolen and lost passports and travel documents, stolen vehicles, and other law enforcement information.
INTERPOL administers a system of international lookout/advisory notices to assist law enforcement authorities of INTERPOL’s member countries. The notices, color coded to designate their specific purposes, are issued by INTERPOL’s General Secretariat in Lyon, France, at the request of member countries, and are distributed to member countries and their appropriate law enforcement officials. USNCB is responsible for seeking the issuance of all INTERPOL notices on behalf of U.S. authorities, and alerting U.S. authorities to the existence of INTERPOL notices issued by other countries. INTERPOL Red, Blue and Green notices, in particular, have demonstrated themselves to be very effective in locating and tracking high-profile subjects of interest to law enforcement (e.g., known or suspected terrorists, consolidated priority organization targets, sexual predators and human traffickers).
INTERPOL Washington Director, Timothy A. Williams, presents at the National Security Leaders Forum, Nov. 18, 2010, in Cartagena, Colombia. The Forum featured speakers from law enforcement, military, fire and rescue, judiciary, and the private sector focusing on improving national security in the region. Director Williams spoke about INTERPOL and initiatives being conducted in the region to encourage collaboration and enhance security.
INTERPOL Washington Director, Timothy A. Williams, recognizes H.E Sheikh Abdullah Bin Nasser Bin Khalifa Al Thani, Qatar's Minister of State for Internal Affairs, for a strong bilateral working relationship between the law enforcement entities in each country. Williams and other INTERPOL Washington officials attended the 79th INTERPOL General Assembly in Doha, Qatar, Nov. 8-11, 2010. The General Assembly is INTERPOL’s highest level meeting comprised of the 188 member countries that convenes once a year to decide on important matters for the organization.
U.S. Law Enforcement Gains Direct Access to INTERPOL Criminal Databases
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