Senior figures in the world of international law enforcement are being brought together as part of the first Interpol Strategic Advisory Panel (ISAP).
A joint initiative of Secretary General Ronald K. Noble and the Interpol Executive Committee, the ISAP will provide the organisation with strategic advice on emerging issues in relation to international police co-operation. The 10-strong international group appointed by the Secretary General will be chaired by former Metropolitan Police Commissioner, Lord John Stevens.
In support of Interpol’s three core functions – secure global police communications services, operational police data services and operational police support services – the panel will also provide the organisation with an opportunity to develop its strategic vision, Interpol adds.
What they say
Secretary General Noble says: “The General Secretariat’s first duty is, and has to be, to the National Central Bureaus in all 182 member countries, and the creation of the Interpol Strategic Advisory Panel is an important step in strengthening this endeavour. I am delighted that these international experts who bring such a wide range of experience and knowledge have agreed to take part in what is an important step in the organization’s continuing commitment to helping police around the world. The amount of information now held in Interpol’s databases and the speed with which it is available to member countries has never been greater in the organization’s history, but we must ensure that we continue to provide our NCBs with support not only in terms of data and communication, but also with vision and the ability to adapt to an ever changing criminal environment.”
Members of the panel include three former Commissioners of Police, Franco Montealegre Callejas (Nicaragua), Francis Forbes (Jamaica) and Tsang Yam Pui (Hong Kong), UN Under Secretary General for Safety and Security Sir David Veness, and former Deputy Inspector General of the Nigeria Police Force and delegate for Africa on the Interpol Executive Committee (1999-2002) Mrs Abimola Jolaade Ojomo. President of the Naif Arab University for Security Sciences (NAASS) Professor Dr Abdulaziz Sagr Al-Ghamdi, Judge Baltazar Garzon del Real of the Spanish Audencia Nacional with specific jurisdiction for terrorism, arms trafficking, currency counterfeiting and serious and organized crime, former Head of the Service de Cooperation Technique Internationale de Police (SCTIP) Jacques Franquet, and Gerry W Lynch, former President of John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York have also accepted the invitation to join the panel. The panel will convene at least twice a year, with the first meeting to be held in Lyon in July 2005. Recommendations from the group will be made directly to the Secretary General for submission to the Interpol Executive Committee.
