Whether made in Hollywood, Bollywood or any other part of the world, crime thrillers send one's blood coursing through the veins at a fast pace. To add a bit of zing to the thrill in a movie, an “Interpol agent” is added
to the team of crimefighters. This agent could be a handsome hulk or a sexy
siren. Criminals are chased down amid crashing cars, rolling speedboats, and hovering
helicopters. Movie plots invariably begin with a plan for a heist, a murder or theft
of top secret files, and formulas etc. Dark intrigues combine with gunfights, explosions,
and physical combats to provide a bloody climax. At last, the good guys
vanquish the bad ones, and everything is rosy and cozy in the world.
The reality is different, though. Fighting crime is
not as loud and colorful. It is impersonal and gray. Interpol does not employ agents
or gunfighters to fight crime. It has to make do with a member country’s police
force. Still, it has an impressive track record.
Interpol had a rather bland beginning. It all started
when anarchism threatened the 19th century Europe’s established
order. Anarchism, as you know, is a political philosophy that has its roots in
the French Revolution when anti-state ideologies sprouted. Pierre-Joseph
Proudhon is considered the Father of Anarchism. Others, like England’s William
Goldwin and Germany’s Max Stirner, contributed to the rise of anarchism as an
extreme leftist ideology. The post-Industrial Revolution globalization gave it
a huge boost when mass migration became a norm. Along with Marxism, Anarchism
fueled working class struggles in Europe and the Americas. Anarchists were
active participants in the Spanish Civil War, the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution and
other socio-political upheavals in Europe. Terror strikes, bombings, and
killings became the norm. The killing of the Spanish Prime Minister Eduardo
Dato on March 8, 1921 was one of its highlights.
When rumors
spread that anarchists were plotting to overthrow the political order across
Europe, it was decided to thwart them. After several false starts, the
International Police Organisation, aka INTERPOL, was founded on September 7,
1923. Soon, anarchism and terrorism spread to the Americas, Asia, and Africa. These
extremist movements created an ecosystem that helped spread crime syndicates
all over the world. As a result, gun running, human and drug trafficking, and
arming of secessionist movements in different countries became lucrative.
Consequently,
Interpol enlarged its scope of anti-crime activities. Today, Interpol promotes
mutual assistance between police forces in the 195 member countries. It also
nurtures institutions that are likely to contribute to the prevention of
international crime. Headquartered in Lyon, France, it is the only police
organization that spans the entire globe. Today, it is facing bigger challenges
like cyber-crime, frauds and counterfeit medicines– especially after the
COVID-19 outbreak.
Cybercriminals
The internet has
created a new breed of anarchists – the cybercriminals. They easily transcend
international borders and commit crimes anywhere in the world with no
constraints. They easily hack into the computers of banks and other
organisations to steal money, and trade and state secrets etc. Crimes against
children have become widespread. Terrorism too has received a huge boost.
Types of Notices
Issued
Interpol and its
member countries have been devising new ways of tackling these crimes, which
have been graded according to their seriousness. Interpol issues color-coded
international notices to help authorities handle situations such as finding a
dangerous person or identifying a dead body.
Orange: Introduced in
2004, this notice indicates a potential threat from hidden weapons or dangerous
items (such as a parcel bomb) or substances that have been stolen, for example,
uranium.
Black: It provides and
also seeks information about unidentified dead bodies.
Yellow: It helps track missing
persons.
Green: It warns about
major criminals and gives information about them.
Blue: It provides
information about individuals of interest related to a crime, including
possible witnesses or potential suspects.
Red: 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. Interpol cannot put pressure on any
member country to arrest an individual who is served a Red Notice.
As per the
Interpol website, there are
about 7156 red notices in circulation. Of them, 960 are females and 6196 are
males. There are 213 Indians – all males.
Most cybercrimes
are transnational; therefore, Interpol operates around the clock, 365 days a
year, to help law-enforcement agencies in different countries looking to
investigate these crimes. Interpol can provide focused cyber intelligence
derived from combining inputs on a global scale. Its main initiatives focus on:
1.
Operational
and investigative support
2.
Cyber
intelligence and analyses
3.
Digital
forensics
4.
Innovation
and research
5.
Capacity
building
6.
National
Cyber Reviews
Most of
Interpol’s funding comes from the member countries themselves. Each country
contributes according to its size, GDP, etc. Member countries may also make
additional contributions voluntarily.
Constraints
Despite
Interpol’s constitutional prohibition against “any intervention or activities
of a political, military, religious or racial character,” there have been
reports of authoritarian regimes abusing the Red Notice system in pursuing
dissidents overseas. A 2011 investigation found that 28% of Red Notices were
from countries identified as having no civil liberties, and that half were from
countries ranked among the most corrupt in the world.
Julius Assange’s
is a case in point. The WikiLeaks founder received a Red Notice for having sex
without a condom. When Interpol issued an arrest warrant for his “sex crimes,”
everyone assumed it was for rape. But it turned out it was for violating an
obscure Swedish law against having sex without a condom.
The controversy
over Red Notices highlights a central dilemma for Interpol in the post-9/11
scenario. For example, in 1998, Osama Bin Laden became the subject of an
Interpol Red Notice for murder, at Libya’s request. This happened four months
before Al Qaida bombed the US embassies in Africa, and the 9/11 happened, which
was the greatest terrorist act ever committed on American soil.
Interpol has
been more successful in fighting non-terrorist or non-political crimes. Among
the prized scalps are Charles Sobhraj, also known as The Serpent, who specialized
in befriending and killing unsuspecting tourists. Then there are the cases of
Albert Walker, the Canadian fraudster; the Algerian train killer Sid Ahmed Rezala;
and many more. As far as Indian fugitives are concerned, hardly any high-profile
ones have been nabbed so far – whether it is Dawood Ibrahim, Nirav Modi, Lalit
Modi, or Mehul Choksi. But Interpol can only be as good as its local partners.
Despite its
deficiencies and constraints, Interpol has helped in improving the efficiency
of law-enforcement around the world. It has proven so successful that even
officers from countries with no diplomatic relations can work together through
Interpol channels to solve crime and capture criminals. Yet, crime remains two
steps ahead of crimefighters. And that is a challenge Interpol and its members
must face up to in the coming years.
No comments:
Post a Comment