In a boost for African security, the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) met with top law enforcement leaders from across the African continent where the bodies pledged to boost the exchange of police data.
According to a statement issued by Interpol, the joint recommendation was endorsed by the secretary general of the global police authority, as well as the heads of the Arab Interior Ministers Council (AIMC), AFRIPOL, and the chairpersons of four African regional police chief cooperation organizations including
The Central African Police Chiefs Organization (CAPCCO);
The Eastern Africa Police Chiefs Organization (EAPCCO);
The Southern African Regional Police Chiefs Cooperation Organization (SARPCCO); and
The West African Police Chiefs Committee (WAPCCO).
According to the document, the participants pledged to coordinate in the push towards further digitalising criminal data in Africa, avoiding duplication and continuing to build synergies between Interpol and Afripol, the joint agreement said.
“The African continent is a driving force for policing transformation and – as Interpol reaches its centenary – member countries in this region will play a crucial role in shaping the next 100 years of this organization,” Interpol president Ahmed Naser Al-Raisi said.
The regional police authorities further agreed to regularly gather to coordinate work at the decision-making level and support police forces across Africa.
“Crime has evolved, but so has policing,” Interpol secretary general Jürgen Stock said during the meeting.
As the twin trends of globalisation and digitalisation have transformed the crime landscape in past decades, the global police architecture has developed in response, Interpol said.
New specialised agencies and regional police networks have emerged, with officers relying on the online exchange of police data more than ever.
According to Interpol, the first joint Interpol-Afripol operation earlier this year saw its databases being queried more than six million times, resulting in some 400 hits and nine people flagged who were subject to red notices.
The increase in available police data, and a global security architecture that has grown progressively more complex, have led to calls from police leaders for greater data interoperability and cooperation between countries and police bodies.
“It is essential for us to think as one – with a single common plan where each of the organizations we lead has a clear, distinctive role,” Stock said, warning against the “duplication” and “loss of critical data” that insufficient cooperation could engender.
“The failure to adequately share criminal information with Interpol’s databases contributes immensely to a situation where a criminal can get away undetected with their crimes,” Interpol vice-president for Africa Garba Baba Umar said.
“Ultimately, our common work has only one objective,” Stock said n his closing remarks to African leaders. “Helping frontline officers make the fastest and more accurate decisions on the ground.”
The continent has been ravaged in recent decades by rising terrorist activity, a growing kidnapping crisis and rampant corruption.
IOL