On September 17, 2019, Wayne H. Salzgaber, Director of the United States National Central Bureau (USNCB) of INTERPOL gave remarks, highlighting some of its unique achievements.
A unique aspect of the USNCB has been that it co-managed by the Deputy Attorney General and the Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS – formally Treasury). The co-management structure enables to USNCB to marshal the resources necessary to handle whatever international challenge occurs.
Salzgaber pointed as a reason to the USNCB’s success as its partner agencies in the U.S. United States partners detail their subject matter experts to the USNCB, helping the USNCB deliver the support required to all 18,000 U.S. law enforcement agencies across the United States.
An example of the contribution of the USNCB to INTERPOL is the development and operation of INTERPOL’s Maritime Piracy database out of the USNCB before the latter gate it to INTERPOL as a means of bringing in more international partners. Nearly a decade later, that database is still being utilized to combat maritime piracy and prosecute persons involved in maritime piracy. (see https://www.interpol.int/Crimes/Maritime-crime)
USNCB personnel and detailees with expertise in traveler screening and passport data, collaborated with a handful of member country representatives to develop INTERPOL’s Stolen and Lost Travel Document database. The database now has more than 90 million records of stolen or lost travel documents reported by more than 160 countries and is used virtually every second of every day to screen international travelers across the globe.
Since 9/11, USNCB has developed and used multiple Counter Terrorism Information sharing programs with its law enforcement and Department of defense partners. Operations such Vennlig,[1] Hamah, Tread, and Cellblock.
According to Salzgaber, INTERPOL has adopted the USNCB’s model under a program called “MILEX” or Military to Law Enforcement Exchange. Today, a number of U.S.> foreign partners are using MILEX to collect and disseminate foreign terrorist fighter identity data obtained from conflict zones across the globe.
Salzgaber said of the more impactful programs USNCB developed was the integration of the INTERPOL notice system with U.S. national law enforcement indices. The solution enables any border official or law enforcement officer to access INTERPOL’s global advisories on missing or wanted persons, foreign terrorist fighters and other subjects of interest within minutes of their publication right on their agency’s native law enforcement or border systems.
However, on September 12, the Helsinki Commission held a hearing on the abuse of the INTERPOL Red Notice and diffusion systems, whereby many autocratic countries use the system to prevent political exiles from traveling and they try to arrest them. The following day members of the Helsinki Commission introduced a bill to remedy the abuses.
Salzgaber said the success of the USNCBI solution has resulted in the USNCB and now INTERPOL deploying technical assistance teams to help other countries in integrating their immigration and border security systems with INTERPOL’s system, thereby creating truly global security architecture.
————–
[1] Project Vennlig successfully provides terrorist information among INTERPOL member countries and the U.S. law enforcement community. See INTERPOL USNBC, U.S. Department of Justice, FY 2010 Performance Budget, Congressional Submission, 2. Sept. 18, 2013 https://www.justice.gov › legacy › 2013/09/28 › fy10-usncb-justification.
Leave a Reply