Jürgen Stock, Interpol Secretary General, gives a clear exposition of the current challenges posed by transnational crime and terrorism, and highlights the need to re-design – and build – the next ‘global architecture of policing’ with secure bridges of cross-border cooperation.
Today, strong intra-regional policing is a reality and we are witnessing cross-border exchanges between law enforcement agencies as never before in global history. Despite these advances, we are far from being able to rest on our laurels. Indeed, the complex global threat landscape facing law enforcement today makes it even more urgent for cross-border and even national relationships to be further enhanced if we are to be effective in protecting society. With members spanning all continents, both Interpol and the Commonwealth are well aware of this imperative.
A simple snapshot of a ‘threat’ in the current global landscape might look like this:
• A radicalised foreign terrorist fighter in a conflict zone such as Syria or Iraq may be fighting on the side of Da’esh, the so-called ‘Islamic State’.
• In doing so, he is pushing thousands of new refugees into desperation, so that they fall prey to organised crime groups, generating illicit proceeds which in turn fuel corruption and even more crime.
• And one day, that individual may move again – joining a new conflict zone in the Maghreb, West Africa or Asia – or heading to Europe, to coordinate the next attack using the latest encryption tools designed by cyber criminals, or buying his weapons on a darknet market.
Such are the threats we face today: fast, mobile, self-reinforcing, interconnected….
Jürgen Stock
Interpol Secretary General
