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On June 3rd, 2015, the global policing organization,
INTERPOL, issued an arrest warrant for six FIFA officials on charges of corruption.
But on whose authority can they issue warrants?
What exactly is INTERPOL and how much power do they have?
Well, despite their name, which is short for The International Criminal Police Organization,
the agency doesn’t actually engage in typical physical police work.
There are no “law enforcement agents” of Interpol, and they aren’t authorized
to make arrests.
They take more of a background role, and help national police departments connect INTERNATIONALLY
and compile data.
With main headquarters in Lyon, France, INTERPOL has about 650 staff members, hailing from
89 different countries.
Applications for employment are accepted from all over the world.
In their actions pertaining to the FIFA scandal, Interpol compiled several country’s criminal
complaints.
Subsequently, they issued a global arrest warrant, or Red Notice, on behalf of those
countries.
Suspects who’ve been issued a Red Notice are compiled in a database that is accessible
to local police forces.
Local police can then be given the authority by a judge to make a provisional arrest.
At the very least, they can alert INTERPOL so that the suspect may eventually be extradited.
Many nations first saw a need for this kind of worldwide police agency after the turn
of the 20th century.
Increased globalization and growing populations necessitated a neutral agency that could pursue
criminals across political borders.
Originally, this was left to the 1923 International Criminal Police Commission.
But during World War II, it was coopted by the Nazis and dissolved.
However by 1956, a new, modern version of Interpol was chartered.
As of 2015, nearly all countries in the world are included in INTERPOL.
To this day, INTERPOL is expressly forbidden from taking part in quote “activities of
a political, military, religious or racial character.
“
In particular, INTERPOL focuses on prosecuting terrorism, human rights violations, genocides,
organized crime, the trafficking of drugs or weapons, and a number of other widespread
criminal endeavors.
So how much authority does INTERPOL wield?
Well, they are not a traditional police force.
But INTERPOL does serve as a useful regulatory authority by linking up police liaisons around
the world.
If you’re interested in learning more about the how the world fights crime check out our
video here all about how countries can help each other prosecute criminals.
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