The Jamaica Customs Agency (JCA) has successfully gained direct access to the International Criminal Police Organization’s (INTERPOL) information system in a bid to amplify Jamaica’s border protection capabilities.
The new partnership was made possible by a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), which was signed between the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) and the JCA on Tuesday, July 25.
INTERPOL: A partner in crime prevention
INTERPOL is an independent intergovernmental organization responsible for ensuring and promoting the widest possible mutual assistance between all criminal police authorities.
The INTERPOL National Central Bureau for Jamaica in Kingston (NCB Kingston) is led by an Assistant Commissioner of Police.
The signing event, held at the JCA’s Head Office in Kingston, was marked by remarks from Velma Ricketts Walker, the Chief Executive Officer and Commissioner of Customs of the JCA.
She underscored the significance of this agreement, remarking that the JCA will now be able to access crime-related information from 195 INTERPOL member countries.
She indicated that this will expedite the sharing of information across borders, which in turn would streamline the development of intelligence packages and enhance border intercept precision.
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Identifying threats: Using INTERPOL’s database to target illicit activities
Walker added that the system access will also bolster the JCA’s intelligence and risk-based targeting efforts, an essential element in curtailing crimes associated with cross-border trade.
“This access will provide us with new tools for identifying suspected players or individuals of interest, their associates and associated entities as well as spotting and preventing the flow of unlawful or criminal activities at Jamaica’s borders,” she said.
Walker further highlighted the importance of collaboration with key stakeholders and international partners in eliminating illicit cross-border movements.
In order to effectively counter organized crime, she emphasized, heightened efforts are required.
“The criminal underworld is quite organized; therefore, we have to step up our efforts to combat them more effectively,” she pointed out.
Meanwhile, Major General Antony Anderson, Commissioner of Police, stated that INTERPOL membership provides benefits that are “unmatched”.
He added that despite the political friction that sometimes exists between countries, INTERPOL allows for unrestricted access to law enforcement databases that everyone contributes to.
Anderson underscored that the integration with INTERPOL will prove beneficial to the JCA, stating, “Each time we sign one of these MOUs, they start to remove the gaps in the security architecture, and these are the gaps that organized crime uses to traverse our systems, traverse our country, our region and even globally.”
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