INTERPOL Washington meets with Indonesian partners

On March 14 – 16, 2017, officials from INTERPOL Washington – U.S National Central Bureau (USNCB) met with their counterparts in Indonesia to participate in a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) Workshop to assist INTERPOL Jakarta and Immigration with improving their submissions of Stolen and Lost Travel Documents (SLTD) to the INTERPOL SLTD database and use of INTERPOL tools and services for enhanced border screening capabilities.

INTERPOL Washington’s Office of the Chief Information Officer has partnered with the U.S. Department of State on a Southeast Asia Capacity Building Initiative. Indonesia is one of four countries targeted by the United States to receive assistance in upgrading their access to INTERPOL information sharing resources. The other countries are Thailand, Malaysia, and the Philippines. Funding provided by the State Department enables INTERPOL Washington to collaborate with member countries lacking the infrastructure, resources and funding to regularly submit Stolen and Lost Travel Documents (SLTD) to the INTERPOL SLTD database, or to integrate INTERPOL’s tools and services for automated border screening and national network connectivity to INTERPOL’s I-24/7 network.

INTERPOL Washington is implementing a standardized methodology for integrating the full suite of INTERPOL tools and services into each country’s existing national architecture.  The integration will be done in three phases.  First, INTERPOL Washington will assess what adjustments and equipment are required to enhance the country’s information sharing capabilities.  Second, the initiative will enhance border or immigrations screening capabilities by integrating INTERPOL’s I-24/7 network allowing the country to seamlessly screen travelers against INTERPOL data during routine border or immigration encounters. Third, INTERPOL Washington will help the member country’s technical personnel to integrate I-24/7 services into their existing national immigration and border screening systems.

This initiative seeks to operationalize compliance with United Nations (UN) Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 2178 section 13 and 14. The resolution encourages member countries to “… prevent the movement of terrorists or terrorist groups by effective border controls …” and to improve international, regional, and sub-regional cooperation through increased sharing of information.

Technical consultation services and assessments are being provided to each country by the INTERPOL Washington Development and Operations Team in collaboration with the INTERPOL General Secretariat.   The consulting service is provided to the member country at no cost. The INTERPOL Washington Capacity Building initiative will expand the global use of the suite of INTERPOL tools and services for implementing effective border security safeguards and management techniques.

A component of the U.S. Department of Justice, INTERPOL Washington is co-managed by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. As the designated representative to the International Criminal Police Organization on behalf of the Attorney General, INTERPOL Washington serves as the national point of contact for all INTERPOL matters, coordinating international investigative efforts among member countries and the more than 18,000 local, state, federal, and tribal law enforcement agencies in the United States.