INTERPOL OPERATION STOP - Dale Sheehan, INTERPOL Director of Capacity Building and Training
Channel: INTERPOL
Date: 2013-07-07

At INTERPOL, we support national police in tactical deployments in the field, aimed at breaking up the criminal networks behind trafficking in human beings and people smuggling.

Operations are preceded by training workshops to ensure that officers on the ground are trained in a range of skills, including specialist interview techniques. Deployments effectively combine police action with input from a number of different sectors such as customs and environmental officers, non-governmental organizations, officials from the 
Ministries of Health and Social Affairs, and prosecutors.

1. Forced child labour
2. Smuggling Training Operation Programme (STOP)

Our Smuggling Training Operation Programme supports INTERPOL member countries in border management issues. In particular, STOP aims to detect organized criminal groups that provide stolen or lost travel documents to illegal immigrants or individuals involved in organized crime.

At the heart of the project is the extension of access for police at strategic border points to INTERPOL's secure global police communications network (known as I-24/7). This allows officers to check passenger documents against the INTERPOL Stolen and Lost Travel Documents (SLTD) Database. Containing in excess of 30 million lost or stolen travel documents this unique worldwide database is a crucial operational tool and one that plays a vital role in the fight against people smuggling and other organized criminal activities.

This extended access is backed up by analytical training and operational support. This enhanced infrastructure provides immediate benefits during tactical deployments, along with a lasting legacy of improved operational capacity for the country in question.