U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano Signs Agreements to Advance Global Security with INTERPOL in Lyon, France

U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Janet Napolitano made a historic visit to INTERPOL in Lyon, France on October 8, 2012. Secretary Napolitano's visit marked the entrance of DHS into a series of agreements that would enhance the global fight against human trafficking and other serious crimes. DHS also pledged support for the INTERPOL Global Complex for Innovation (IGCI) set to open in Singapore in 2014. The IGCI will serve as a key resource in an area that desperately needs expansion and a global focus: digital crime, cyber security and forensics. For the full story, please see INTERPOL's press release.

Director Williams Speaks at Cybercrime 2012 Conference

On October 9, 2012, Director Timothy A. Williams spoke at Cybercrime 2012: Trends, Challenges and Countermeasures, a cyber conference held in Arlington, Virginia. Co-hosted by George Mason University and the Information Systems Audit and Control Association, the conference featured speakers from government agencies, law enforcement, private corporations, and academia. Director Williams provided the attendees with a brief overview of INTERPOL and discussed challenges that international law enforcement face with the fight against cybercrime. Director Williams also detailed plans for the INTERPOL Global Complex for Innovation currently under construction in Singapore that will play an integral role in combating cybercrime across the world.

INTERPOL Washington Hosts Partner Outreach Event

On September 21, 2012, INTERPOL Washington hosted its inaugural Partner Outreach Event with approximately 200 attendees across public and private sectors. The event featured a ribbon-cutting ceremony and tour of the facilities, where division representatives spoke on their scope and capabilities. Attendees included U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Director John Morton, as well as many other partners in law enforcement agencies, government, congressional committees and offices, foreign embassies, private entities, and non-governmental organizations.

Director Williams Attends INTERPOL Asian Regional Conference

From September 17-19, 2012, INTERPOL Washington Director Timothy A. Williams attended the 21st INTERPOL Asian Regional Conference in Amman, Jordan. This conference focused on cybercrime, maritime piracy, human trafficking/child protection, and capacity building. Director Williams also participated in meetings and briefings with Jordan's INTERPOL National Central Bureau in Amman.

Director Williams and INTERPOL President Commemorate U. S. Project Conclusion that Resulted in Access to INTERPOL I-24/7 Database

On September 11th, 2012, INTERPOL President Khoo Boon Hui and INTERPOL Washington Director Timothy A. Williams delivered remarks at the INTERPOL I-24/7 network launch at Tocumen International Airport in Panama that granted access to Panamanian National Police and National Immigration Service authorities. Access to INTERPOL's I-24/7 network was part of a two-year project funded by the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of International Narcotic and Law Enforcement Affairs to expand access of the INTERPOL I-24/7 network to police at select border crossings, airports, seaports, and specialized police units throughout Central America. Please view INTERPOL's press release on this project for additional information.

Director Williams Attends International Law Enforcement Intellectual Property Crime Conference

From September 11-13, 2012, Director Williams attended the International Law Enforcement Intellectual Property Crime Conference co-hosted by INTERPOL and the Policia Nacional de Panama in partnership with Underwriters Laboratories. Fifty-eight countries were represented and 500 delegates from private and public sectors were in attendance. The conference was themed "East Meets West" and focused on intellectual property crime, trafficking in illicit goods, capacity building and operations, public-private partnership, and the information sharing of intelligence on regional and transnational levels. During Director Williams' trip, he also met with private sector partners and attended briefings with the INTERPOL National Central Bureau in Panama. Additional information on the International Law Enforcement Intellectual Property Crime Conference may be found on INTERPOL's website.

INTERPOL Washington Representatives Attend International Association of Financial Crimes Investigators Annual Training Seminar

INTERPOL Washington representatives attended the Annual International Association of Financial Crimes Investigators (IAFCI) Training Seminar in San Antonio, Texas from Monday, August 13 through Friday, August 17, 2012. IAFCI's mssion is to educate law enforcement and investigators on fraud prevention methods and trends in financial crimes to increase the security of the financial payment industry. Several of the seminar topics included counterfeiting, social networking fraud, organized crime schemes, and mortgage fraud. With more than 600 people in attendance, INTERPOL Washington representatives staffed a booth that provided information on INTERPOL Washington to seminar participants.

INTERPOL Washington Representatives Attend International Terrorism and Organized Crime Conference

INTERPOL Washington representatives attended the International Terrorism and Organized Crime Conference from Monday, August 6 through Friday, August 10, 2012 in Anaheim, California. Sponsored by the Asian Gang Investigator's Association, the annual conference covered a range of topics including international and domestic terrorism trends, organized crime, human trafficking, identity theft, drug trafficking, international money laundering, and computer forensics. Additionally, INTERPOL Washington representatives provided attendees with an overview of INTERPOL Washington and its resources, programs and initiatives that assist law enforcement in combating terrorism, human trafficking and gang-related crimes.

INTERPOL Washington Representatives Attend 24th Annual Crimes Against Children Conference

INTERPOL Washington representatives attended the 24th Annual Crimes Against Children Conference from Monday, August 13 through Thursday, August 16, 2012 in Dallas, Texas. Professionals from across the world attended from fields including law enforcement, law, child protective services, social work, advocacy, and medicine, most of whom work directly with children who are victims of crime. The conference provided a forum to share the most current information, ideas, training, and strategies to help professionals combat crimes committed against children. INTERPOL Washington representatives conducted a presentation on the agency and its work on children's issues.

Director Williams Visits Key Partners in Central America

From Wednesday, August 15 through Thursday, August 16, 2012, INTERPOL Washington Director Timothy A. Williams visited key partners in the Central American region, including Costa Rica and Panama. In Costa Rica, Director Williams met with Director General Francesco Segura Montero and senior leadership from the Judicial Investigative Bureau to discuss collaborative initiatives between INTERPOL and countries in the Americas region. In Panama, Director Williams met with senior police officials, including Director General Julio Molto, to discuss various law enforcement issues facing the countries in the region and the expansion of the INTERPOL network in Central America.

Director Williams Meets with Law Enforcement Officials in Chile

On Friday, August 17th, INTERPOL Washington Director Timothy A. Williams traveled to Chile for briefings on law enforcement operations and regional INTERPOL initiatives in that country. The briefings included a tour of the Police Training Academy in Santiago and meetings with senior Chilean police officials. Director Williams also met with fellow INTERPOL Executive Committee Delegate and Director General of the Chilean Police, Marcos Vasquez Meza. Director Williams and Director General Vasquez discussed ways to improve communication and collaboration between the INTERPOL member countries in the region and other law enforcement issues. The Executive Committee is an advisory board to the INTERPOL Secretary General that is comprised of senior law enforcement officials from different regions of the world who are elected by the INTERPOL General Assembly.

INTERPOL Washington Hosts Advisory Committee for International Association of Chiefs of Police

On Tuesday, August 7, 2012, INTERPOL Washington hosted the Advisory Committee for the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP). The Administrator of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Michele Leonhart, chaired the working meeting. Topics covered included the 119th Annual IACP Conference next month in San Diego, CA, IACP national points of contact, and upcoming IACP international conferences. A guest speaker from the intelligence community also spoke on international law enforcement and intelligence integration as mandated in the Strategy to Combat Transnational Crime.

Director Williams Speaks at Aspen Institute Security Forum

On Thursday, July 27, 2012, Director Williams participated with a panel on law enforcement and homeland security. The panel discussed cooperation between federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies with private industry on domestic and international counterterrorism investigations. The Aspen Institute brings together high-level government, private industry, academia, journalists, and concerned citizens to talk about national security, homeland security, counterterrorism, and foreign policy issues. For more information, please visit the Aspen Institute Security Forum website.

INTERPOL Washington Assists in Arrest of Ulrich Engler

INTERPOL Washington assisted in the arrest of fugitive Ulrich Felix Anton Engler on Wednesday, July 25, 2012, in Las Vegas, Nevada. Engler was wanted by the German authorities for a pyramid scheme, operated from his financial firm in Florida, which defrauded investors in Germany of at least $100 million dollars from 2003 to 2004. A warrant and an INTERPOL Red Notice were issued for his arrest in 2007 by the German courts in Mannheim and Hamburg. At the time, Engler was believed to have been residing in Florida; however his exact whereabouts were unknown. In 2011, the United States Marshals Service (USMS) in conjunction with INTERPOL Washington began to reexamine the case and determined that Engler was perpetuating his fraudulent schemes in Nevada under a new identity. Personnel from the USMS in Washington, D.C., the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Florida, and INTERPOL Washington officials traveled to Nevada to apprehend Engler. Officials from the USMS from the District of Nevada, ICE, the Nevada Department of Public Safety, and the Las Vegas Police Department coordinated the investigation and arrest of Engler.

INTERPOL Washington Hosts National Capital Region Law Enforcement Luncheon

On July 19, 2012, INTERPOL Washington hosted the monthly National Capital Region Law Enforcement Luncheon. Director Williams gave a presentation on INTERPOL Washington and its services to U.S. federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement agencies, led a tour of the INTERPOL Operations and Command Center that is operational 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days of the year to support law enforcement, and provided an informal lunch to foster discussion and collaboration between law enforcement branches and officials. Agencies represented include the law enforcement branches of the U.S. Air Force, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and U.S. Marshals Service.

INTERPOL Global Register Unveiled at Google INFO Summit

Director Timothy Williams represented INTERPOL Washington at the Google Ideas INFO Summit alongside innovators in government, the private sector, and non-governmental organizations. At the Summit, INTERPOL Secretary General Ronald Noble from the United States unveiled the INTERPOL Global Register, an innovative tool that will enable law enforcement officials and the public to verify the legitimacy of products via a smartphone or internet-connected mobile device:

Secretary General Noble stated that, "INTERPOL's core mandate has always been to make sure that law enforcement anywhere in the world will have access to the right information at the right time to fight crime. We are now taking this a step further by giving the public the ability to protect themselves by using the INTERPOL Global Register to check unique security features used to verify the authenticity of products."

INTERPOL Washington looks forward to future collaboration with INTERPOL, as the U.S. law enforcement community and American public gain access to crime-fighting tools including the Global Register. For more information on the INTERPOL Global Register preview at the Google INFO Summit, please view INTERPOL's press release.

INTERPOL Washington Hosts Inaugural Congressional Open Forum on Capitol Hill

Sponsored by Senator Dick Durbin (IL), INTERPOL Washington hosted their first Open Forum for Congressional staffers on July 13, 2012. Approximately 30 Congressional staffers attended the forum led by INTERPOL Washington's Director, Deputy Director, and General Counsel. Specific topics included INTERPOL Washington's role in the United States and internationally, INTERPOL Red Notices and Executive Order 12425. Following the discussion, INTERPOL Washington officials opened the forum to Q&A and addressed specific questions that Congressional staffers had regarding the agency. Please view photo gallery.

INTERPOL Washington Assists in Recovery and Repatriation of Stolen Art to Peru

INTERPOL Washington Director Timothy Williams and INTERPOL Washington officials from the Stolen Art and Cultural Antiquities Program attended a repatriation ceremony where 9 paintings, a silver monstrance, ceramics, textiles, and bronze objects were returned to the Embassy of Peru in Washington, D.C. Four of the seven paintings were listed in the INTERPOL Stolen Works of Art Database, and INTERPOL Washington provided investigative assistance to the U.S. Immigration, Customs Enforcement (ICE) Cultural Property, Art, and Antiquities Program for the silver monstrance and seven of the nine paintings. U.S. Deputy Attorney General James Cole and ICE Director John Morton returned the stolen art to the Ambassador of Peru, Harold Forsyth. For additional information on ICE's role in the investigation, please view ICE's press release regarding the repatriation ceremony. Please view photo gallery.