As part of a policy to improve its relationships with the British Overseas Territories (BOTs), the UK’s National Central Bureau (NCB) of INTERPOL, based in Manchester within the National Crime Agency, has just held a conference which was attended by two local police officers.

The first part of the conference took place at the Home Office in Whitehall, London, after which delegates spent two days at INTERPOL’s main headquarters in Lyon, France.

Detective Sergeant James Rodriguez of the RGP and Detective Constable Dagan Torres of the Gibraltar Defence Police were joined by officers from Bermuda, the Cayman Islands, Turks and Caicos, Monserrat, British Virgin Islands and Anguilla.

Just a few of the many subjects discussed at the conference were:

• Recent upgrades in the NCB’s intelligence databases, particularly regarding drugs and firearms, to which officers in the BOTs have access.
• INTERPOL’s maritime security policies and capabilities
• INTERPOL’s current capabilities on biometrics - the biological measurements or physical characteristics that can be used to identify individuals.
• The forensic support available to the BOTs from INTERPOL, especially on drug-related matters.

James said,

‘The conference was really useful. Apart from making some very valuable contacts, it showed us all the facilities to which we have access at both the UK National Coordinating Bureau and at INTERPOL.’

Dagan added,

‘It was a truly unique experience where I had the opportunity to learn a lot about what INTERPOL has to offer. We were able to discuss common themes with officers from the other BOTs and we have been invited to similar conferences in the future.’

In November of last year, James was also a member of the UK delegation which attended the annual INTERPOL General Assembly in Vienna, exactly 100 years after the organisation was founded in the Austrian capital.

The Assembly was attended by over 1,000 police and law enforcement officers from over 160 countries with the aim of strengthening international police cooperation amidst an unprecedented rise in transnational crime.