
The International Criminal Police Organization (ICPO; french: link=no, Organisation internationale de police criminelle), commonly known as Interpol ( , ), is an
international organization
An international organization (also known as an international institution or intergovernmental organization) is a stable set of norms and rules meant to govern the behavior of states and other actors in the international system. Organizations m ...
that facilitates worldwide police cooperation and crime control. Headquartered in
Lyon, France
Lyon or Lyons (, , ; frp, Liyon, ) is the third-largest city and second-largest urban area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône
The Rhône ( , ; german: Rhone ; wae, Rotten ; it, Rodano ; frp, Rôno ; oc, R ...

, it is the world's largest international police organization, with seven regional bureaus worldwide and a National Central Bureau in all 195 member states.
Interpol was conceived during the first International Criminal Police Congress in 1914, which brought officials from 24 countries to discuss cooperation in law enforcement. It was founded in September 1923 as the International Criminal Police Commission (ICPC), adopting many of its current duties throughout the 1930s. After coming under Nazi control in 1938, the agency was effectively moribund until the end of World War II. In 1956, the ICPC adopted a new constitution and the name Interpol, derived from its
telegraphic address
A telegraphic address or cable address was a unique identifier code for a recipient of telegraph
Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of textual messages where the sender uses a semaphore system, known to the recipient, rather than ...
used since 1946.
Interpol provides investigative support, expertise, and training to law enforcement worldwide, focusing on three major areas of
transnational crimeTransnational crimes are crime
In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay ...
:
terrorism
Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of intentional violence to achieve political aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to violence during peacetime
Peace is a concept of societal friendship and harmony in the ...
,
cybercrime
Cybercrime is a crime that involves a computer
A computer is a machine that can be programmed to carry out sequences of arithmetic or logical operations automatically. Modern computers can perform generic sets of operations known as Com ...
, and
organized crime
Organized crime is a category of transnational, national, or local groupings of highly centralized enterprises run by criminals to engage in illegal activity, most commonly for profit. While organized crime is generally thought of as a form of i ...
. Its broad mandate covers virtually every kind of crime, including
crimes against humanity
Crimes against humanity are certain acts that are purposefully committed as part of a widespread or systematic policy, directed against civilians, in times of war
War is an intense armed conflict between states, government
A g ...
,
child pornography
Child pornography (also called CP, child sexual abuse material, CSAM, child porn, or kiddie porn) is pornography
Pornography (often shortened to porn) is the portrayal of Human sexual activity, sexual subject matter for the exclusive purpo ...
,
drug trafficking
Uncoated tablets, consisting of about 90% acetylsalicylic acid, along with a minor amount of inert fillers and binders. Aspirin is a pharmaceutical drug
A medication (also called medicament, medicine, pharmaceutical drug, medicinal drug ...
and production,
political corruption
Political corruption is the use of powers by government officials or their network contacts for illegitimate private gain.
Forms of corruption
Corruption is a form of dishonesty
Dishonesty is to act without honesty. It is used to describe a ...
,
intellectual property infringement
An intellectual property (IP) infringement is the infringement or violation of an intellectual property right. There are several types of intellectual property rights, such as copyrights, patents, trademarks, industrial designs, and trade secrets. T ...
, and
white-collar crime
The term "white-collar crime" refers to financially motivated, nonviolent or non directly violent crime
In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern cr ...
. The agency also facilitates cooperation among national law enforcement institutions through criminal databases and communications networks. Contrary to popular belief, Interpol is itself not a law enforcement agency.
Interpol has an annual budget of €142 million, most of which comes from annual contributions by member police forces in 181 countries. It is governed by a General Assembly composed of all member countries, which elects the Executive Committee and the President (currently
Ahmed Naser Al-Raisi
Ahmed Naser Al-Raisi (also romanised as Ahmed Nasser Al-Raisi) is an Emirati general. He currently serves as the president of Interpol
The International Criminal Police Organization (ICPO; french: link=no, Organisation internationale de poli ...
of the
United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, الإمارات العربية المتحدة ) or the Emirates ( ar, الإمارات ), is a country in Western Asia
Western Asia, West Asia, or Southwest Asia, is the westernmost subregion
A subregio ...

) to supervise and implement Interpol's policies and administration. Day-to-day operations are carried out by the General Secretariat, comprising around 1,000 personnel from over 100 countries, including both police and civilians. The Secretariat is led by the Secretary-General, currently
Jürgen Stock, the former deputy head of Germany's
Federal Criminal Police Office.
Pursuant to its
charter
A charter is the grant of authority
In the fields of sociology
Sociology is the study of society, human social behaviour, patterns of social relationships, social interaction, and culture that surrounds everyday life. It is a social scien ...

, Interpol seeks to remain
politically neutral
Apoliticism is apathy or antipathy towards all political affiliations. A person may be described as apolitical if they are not interested or involved in politics. Being apolitical can also refer to situations in which people take an Bias, unbiased ...
in fulfilling its mandate, and is thus barred from interventions or activities that are political, military, religious, or racial in nature and from involving itself in disputes over such matters. The agency operates in four languages: Arabic, English, French and Spanish.
History
Until the 19th century, cooperation among police in different national and political jurisdictions was organized largely on an ''ad hoc'' basis, focused on a specific goal or criminal enterprise. The earliest attempt at a formal, permanent framework for international police coordination was the Police Union of German States, formed in 1851 to bring together police from various German-speaking states. Its activities were centered mostly on political dissidents and criminals. A similar plan was launched by Italy in the
1898 Anti-Anarchist Conference of Rome, which brought delegates from 21 European countries to create a formal structure for addressing the international anarchist movement. Neither the conference nor its follow up meeting in St. Petersburg in 1904 yielded results.
The early 20th century saw several more efforts to formalize international police cooperation, as growing international travel and commerce facilitated transnational criminal enterprises and fugitives of the law.
The earliest was the International Criminal Police Congress hosted by
Monaco
Monaco (; ), officially the Principality of Monaco (french: Principauté de Monaco; Monégasque Ligurian: ''Prinçipatu de Mu̍negu''), is a sovereign
Sovereign is a title which can be applied to the highest leader in various categories. The ...

in 1914, which brought police and legal officials from two dozen countries to discuss international cooperation in investigating crimes, sharing investigative techniques, and extradition procedures. The Monaco Congress laid out twelve principles and priorities that would eventually become foundational to Interpol, including providing direct contact between police in different nations; creating an international standard for forensics and data collection; and facilitating the efficient processing of extradition requests. The idea of an international police organization remained dormant due to the First World War. The United States attempted to lead a similar effort in 1922 through the International Police Conference in New York City, but it failed to attract international attention.
A year later, in 1923, a new initiative was undertaken at another International Criminal Police Congress in
Vienna
Vienna ( ; german: Wien ; bar, Wean, label=Bavarian language, Austro-Bavarian ) is the Capital city, national capital, largest city, and one of States of Austria, nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's List of cities and towns in Austria, mos ...

, spearheaded by
Johannes Schober
Johannes "Johann" Schober (born November 14, 1874 in Perg; died August 19, 1932 in Baden bei Wien) was an Austrian jurist, law enforcement official, and politician. Schober was appointed Vienna Chief of Police in 1918 and became the founding preside ...
, President of the Viennese Police Department. The 22 delegates agreed to found the International Criminal Police Commission (ICPC), the direct forerunner of Interpol, which would be based in Vienna. Founding members included police officials from Austria, Germany, Belgium, Poland, China, Egypt, France, Greece, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, Japan, Romania, Sweden, Switzerland, and
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia (; sh, Jugoslavija / ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; Pannonian Rusyn
Image:Novi Sad mayor office.jpg, 250px, Mayor office written in four official languages used in the ...

.
The same year, wanted person notices were first published in the ICPC's International Public Safety Journal.
The United Kingdom joined in 1928. The United States did not join INTERPOL until 1938, although a U.S. police officer unofficially attended the 1923 congress. By 1934, the ICPC's membership more than doubled to 58 nations.
Following ''
Anschluss
The ''Anschluss'' (, or ''Anschluß'' before the German orthography reform of 1996
The German orthography reform of 1996 (') was a change to German spelling
German orthography is the orthography used in writing
Writing is a med ...

'' in 1938, the Viennese-based organization fell under the control of
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany, (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945, was ...

, and the Commission's headquarters were eventually moved to
Berlin
Berlin (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3,769,495 inhabitants, as of 31 December 2019 makes it the List of cities in the European Union by ...

in 1942. Most member states withdrew their support during this period.
From 1938 to 1945, the presidents of the ICPC included
Otto Steinhäusl,
Reinhard Heydrich
Reinhard Tristan Eugen Heydrich (; ; 7 March 1904 – 4 June 1942) was a high-ranking German SS and police official during the Nazi era and a principal architect of the Holocaust. He was chief of the Reich Security Main Office (includin ...
,
Arthur Nebe
(13 November 1894 – 21 March 1945) was a key functionary in the security and police apparatus of Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany, (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Ger ...

, and
Ernst Kaltenbrunner
Ernst Kaltenbrunner (4 October 190316 October 1946) was a high-ranking Austrian SS official during the Nazi era
Nazism (), officially National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus; ), is the ideology and practices associated with Adolf ...

. All were generals in the
, and Kaltenbrunner was the highest ranking SS officer executed after the
Nuremberg Trials#REDIRECT Nuremberg trials#REDIRECT Nuremberg trials
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.
In 1946, after the end of