Interpol emphasizes importance of actionable intelligence for global police forces ahead of international meeting on defeating ISIS

Prior to an international conference of the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS, International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) Secretary General Jürgen Stock emphasized the need for military successes to be translated into actionable intelligence for global police forces.

The information of more than 18,000 foreign terrorist fighters have been shared through Interpol’s network including biometric data such as photos, fingerprints, and DNA profiles.

In a release, Interpol highlighted the achievements of two large-scale organization initiatives. In 2006, Interpol launched Project Vennlig, which collects evidence of terrorist activity within the Iraqi conflict zone and works to interdict foreign fighters. In 2008, the organization created Project Hamah, which puts its focus on the Afghani conflict zone.

Both projects, Interpol said, have enabled global law enforcement to identify previously unknown terrorists and facilitation networks.

“Experience has shown the essential role that military-police cooperation plays in keeping pace with the threat as it disperses beyond the conflict zone,” Stock said. “INTERPOL provides an established and trusted interface which supports this cooperation on a global level.”

“Once terrorist information is shared at the global level, every traffic check, passport control or random search holds the potential for a break in a terrorism investigation or to foil an evolving plot,” he added.

Interpol also cited the 11 positive identifications of foreign terrorist fighters in a two week period in June that one European country made using the organization’s fingerprint identification system. Additionally, individuals linked to recent terrorist attacks in Europe, including one that was traveling with a passport identified in the Lost or Stolen Travel Documents database, had been the subjects of multiple Interpol alerts.

“Unless and until countries ensure vital policing information is in the hands of frontline officers, the threat will continue to outpace our response,” Stock said.