Why in news?

Preparations are afoot for the 90th Interpol General Assembly that is to be held in the National Capital later this year. The arrangements for the event are being made by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in coordination with other government agencies.

Highlights

• The CBI is the designated nodal body for the Interpol in India. It works in close coordination with the Interpol and other member countries for the sharing of inputs related to trans-national crimes and persons wanted by enforcement agencies across the world.
• Representatives of the 195 Interpol member countries are expected to participate in the annual meeting this October. Officials of the Indian law enforcement agencies will also attend the General Assembly, to be held at the India Trade Promotion Organisation’s Pragati Maidan.
• In November last year, a three-day Interpol General Assembly was organised in Turkey’s Istanbul. It concluded with the election of 11 new members of its executive committee, including CBI Special Director Praveen Sinha, as a delegate for Asia.

What is INTERPOL?

• The full name is International Criminal Police Organization and it is an inter-governmental organization. It has 195 member countries, and help police in all of them to work together to make the world a safer place.
• To do this, it enables them to share and access data on crimes and criminals, and offer a range of technical and operational support.

Who makes up INTERPOL?

• The General Secretariat coordinates day-to-day activities to fight a range of crimes. Run by the Secretary General, it is staffed by both police and civilians and comprises a headquarters in Lyon, a global complex for innovation in Singapore and several satellite offices in different regions.
• In each country, an INTERPOL National Central Bureau (NCB) provides the central point of contact for the General Secretariat and other NCBs. An NCB is run by national police officials and usually sits in the government ministry responsible for policing.

• The General Assembly is our governing body and it brings all countries together once a year to take decisions.