The International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL), along with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and Brazilian Federal Police, recently held training courses to raise awareness and strengthen the capacity of Brazilian authorities to deal with a range of potential crimes leading into the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.
The first course was held May 30-31 and focused on the legal tools available to deal with competition manipulation, sports betting, doping and other criminal matters in sport. The course brought together senior representatives from law enforcement, the Ministry of Justice, judges, prosecutors, the national lottery, national sports federations, the organizing committee and academia.
The second course, held June 2-3, targeted specialist sports investigators with an emphasis on case evaluation, evidence collection and information exchange.
“Rio 2016 is fully committed and engaged in the prevention and investigation of any form of crime against sports during the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games,” Luiz Fernando Correa, senior director of the Rio2016 Olympic Games Organizing Committee, said. “Thus, Rio 2016 established the Joint Integrity Intelligence Unit with the IOC in order to guarantee the integrity of sports in partnership with the Brazilian authorities.”
INTERPOL and the IOC are also launching a handbook protecting sport from competition manipulation, which would serve as a compliment to the global capacity building and training and provides an important point of reference for sports governing bodies and law enforcement.