INTERPOL 100 ‘Connecting Police For a Safer World’

Abstract

Aim: The aim of this paper is to outline the century-long, instructive history of international police cooperation.Methodology: The authors of the paper analyse and organise the pre-WWII Hungarian and contemporary English literature, as well as the data published on the INTERPOL website to mark the anniversary.Findings: The predecessor organisation was set up in 1923 with the idea that police forces in different countries should work together to detect crime and curb cross-border crime through arrest and extradition procedures, identification techniques and criminal records. Many of the objectives and tools of that time are still the basis for joint work today. As security challenges and international organized crime activities and technological responses to them evolved, INTERPOL grew into the effective international organisation that now supports and coordinates the work of law enforcement agencies in 195 countries.Value: This milestone anniversary of INTERPOL provides an opportunity to look back over the last century of international police cooperation. The study takes a fresh look at the subject. It briefly presents the contemporary Hungarian reception of the initial steps in organisational and technical development, INTERPOL’s own assessment of the past 100 years, and the analyses of certain periods published by foreign experts on the subject.