Interpol Notices

Interpol Notices

Context:

• Recently there have been concerns about the misuse of Interpol’s notice system, especially the issuance of blue corner notices, which are less scrutinised than their red corner notices.
• Critics argue that the countries often exploit existing protocols to target political refugees and dissidents.
• While efforts have been made to address this, questions remain about striking a balance between facilitating police cooperation and also preventing misuse of this powerful tool.

About Interpol:

• The International Criminal Police Organization which is more commonly known as Interpol, comprising 194 member countries, plays a crucial role as an information-sharing network to enable national police forces to combat transnational crimes.
• The organization which is today known as Interpol was founded on 7 September 1923 at the close of a five-day 1923 International Police Congress in Vienna as the International Criminal Police Commission (ICPC).
• Interpol provides investigative support, expertise and also training to law enforcement worldwide, focusing on three major areas of transnational crime which are terrorism, cybercrime and organized crime.
• However its broad mandate covers virtually every kind of crime, including crimes against humanity, child pornography, drug trafficking and production, political corruption, intellectual property infringement, as well as white-collar crime.
• The agency also facilitates cooperation among various national law enforcement institutions through criminal databases and communications networks.
• It is important to note that contrary to popular belief, Interpol is itself not a law enforcement agency.

About Interpol notices:

• INTERPOL Notices are basically international requests for cooperation or alerts allowing police in member countries to share critical crime-related information.
• These notices are issued by the General Secretariat at the request of a member country’s INTERPOL National Central Bureau and are made available for all our member countries to consult in our Notices database.
• The notices can also be issued at the request of International Criminal Tribunals and the International Criminal Court to seek persons wanted for committing crimes within their jurisdiction, notably genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity.
• Notices can also be issued at the request of the United Nations in relation to the implementation of sanctions imposed by the Security Council.
• Most Notices are for police use only and they are not available to the public.
• However, an extract of the Notice can be published on this site if the requesting country wishes to alert the public or wants to seek their help. All United Nations Special Notices are public.

About Blue corner notices:

• There are generally seven broad types of notices issued by Interpol which are Red Notice, Yellow Notice, Blue Notice, Black Notice, Green Notice, Orange Notice, and Purple Notice.
• A blue corner notice also known as an enquiry notice and it allows police forces in member states to share critical crime related information such as obtaining a person’s criminal record, and location and, having his or her identity verified among others.
• For example, in January 2020, Interpol issued a blue corner notice to help locate fugitive self-styled godman Nithyananda.
• However it is important to note the fact that Interpol cannot compel law enforcement authorities in any country to arrest the subject of a red corner notice as the exercise of such powers is entirely discretionary.

About Red Corner notice:

• A red corner notice is generally issued by a member state to arrest a wanted criminal through extradition or any other similar lawful action.
• Such red notices are issued against persons wanted by national jurisdictions for prosecution or to serve a sentence based on an arrest warrant or a court decision.
• The country issuing the request need not be the home country of the fugitive, the organization acts even on the request of a country where the alleged crime has been committed.
• While blue corner notices are issued prior to the filing of criminal charges, red corner notices generally issued after criminal convictions.
• The concerned individual can be stopped and arrested while travelling through any member state.
• There will also be other detrimental consequences like the closure of bank accounts.

Yellow notice:

• This notice is issued to help locate missing persons, often minors, or to help identify persons who are unable to identify themselves.

Black Notice: 

• It is issued to seek information on unidentified bodies.

Green Notice: 

• The green notice is issued to provide warning about a person’s criminal activities, where the person is considered to be a possible threat to public safety.

Orange Notice: 

• It is also issued to warn of an event, a person, an object or a process representing a serious and imminent threat to public safety.

Purple Notice: 

• It is issued to seek or provide information on modus operandi, objects, devices and concealment methods used by criminals.

INTERPOL–United Nations Security Council Special Notice: 

• It is issued for entities and individuals who are the targets of UN Security Council Sanctions Committees.