Securing global police communication services

INTERPOL has developed a global police communications system, known as I-24/7, which enables any member country to request for, and submit and access, vital data instantly in a secure environment. Liaison Bureau (LB) is connected to this system and frontline officers can obtain INTERPOL services via LB.

Operational data services and databases for police

Through I-24/7, member countries, including the Force, have direct and immediate access to a wide range of databases, including Nominal Data; Stolen and Lost Travel Documents; Stolen Motor Vehicles; Stolen Works of Art; DNA Profiles; Fingerprints, and Counterfeit Payment Cards.

For instance, in 2008, Organised Crime and Triad Bureau utilised the Stolen Motor Vehicles Database during an operation and identified three recovered vehicles as the ones reported stolen by the National Police Agency of Japan.

INTERPOL also disseminates critical crime-related data through a system of international notices. Based on the requests from member countries, the INTERPOL General Secretariat (IPSG) produces notices in all of the organisation's four official languages: Arabic, English, French and Spanish.

The seven types of notices and their objectives are:

Red Notice

To seek the arrest or provisional arrest of wanted persons, with a view to extradition.

Yellow Notice

To help locate missing persons, often minors, or to help identify persons who are unable to identify themselves.

Blue Notice

To collect additional information about a person's identity or activities in relation to a crime.

Black Notice

To seek information on unidentified bodies.

Green Notice

To provide warnings and criminal intelligence about persons who have committed criminal offences and are likely to repeat these crimes in other countries.

Orange Notice

To warn police, public entities and other international organisations about potential threats from disguised weapons, parcel bombs and other dangerous materials.

INTERPOL-United Nations Special Notice

Issued for groups and individuals who are the targets of UN sanctions against Al Qaeda and the Taliban.

Regarding INTERPOL Red Notice, some member countries give such notice the legal basis for provisional arrest or detention of an individual awaiting formal extradition request. However, under the laws of Hong Kong, the Force does not have the legal power to make arrest or provisional arrest of any persons solely based on INTERPOL Red Notice. The Force can only exchange intelligence with the requesting country about the surfacing of their wanted person who is on Red Notice. Arrest action can only be taken upon a formal extradition request made via the Department of Justice (D of J) under Surrender of Fugitive Offender (SFO) agreements.

To publish a Red Notice to seek assistance from other countries to locate and extradite a fugitive back to Hong Kong to stand trial, the officer in charge of the case concerned has to seek advice from the D of J and then refer the request for the Red Notice to LB for processing, together with the obtained legal advice and local arrest warrant.

Operational police support services

Based at IPSG, the Command and Co-ordination Centre operates around the clock. It links IPSG, National Central Bureaux and regional offices, and serves as the first point of contact for any member country faced with a crisis situation. This may include deployment of Incident Response Teams or Disaster Victim Identification Teams to the sites of terrorist attacks or natural disasters, or INTERPOL Major Event Support Teams (IMEST) to assist the host countries of sporting events or world summits with security efforts. For example, INTERPOL sent their IMEST to render assistance to the Force during Hong Kong's hosting of the WTO MC6 Conference in 2005.

Police training and development

INTERPOL Global Learning Centre is a Learning Management System composed of a directory of experts, e-learning packages and a depository of research papers and best practices. Together with regular training programmes, the organisation ultimately aims at enhancing member countries' capacity in combatting transnational crime and terrorism.