Interpol National Central Bureau : an operational policy

[摘要] ENGLISH ABSTRACT:Foreign criminal syndicates are using South Africa as a springboard to commit certaincrimes throughout the world. The crimes vary from fraud to murder to dealing indrugs. The South African Police Service does possess the capacity and the means totrace and arrest these criminals but this is not enough. Foreigners arrested in thiscountry are tried and sentenced without any checks being done in order to determinewhether the subject is possibly sought by other policing agencies throughout theworld.One of the means available to the South African Police Service but which iscompletely under utilizsed is the component Interpol, which is based within the CrimeIntelligence division at Head Office in Pretoria. One reason for the under utilisation ofthis component is the absence of an operational policy. The design of a policydocument will inform members of the South African Police Service of the environmentin which Interpol operates and what contribution it can make in respect of- theinvestigation of crimes that have an international dimension.The theoretical aspects of the policy environment have been discussed and it wasfound that it is of importance that the proper goals and objectives are formulated andthat policy analyst must be able to differentiate between the two. As progress is madein respect of the policy document the analyst will have to keep abreast with currenttendencies and make the necessary adjustments. These changes must not be ofsuch a nature that the goals and objectives of the policy document are changed oraltered.By the middle of the nineteenth century, the police, especially in Europe, began torealise that criminals were regularly committing offences in other countries and thenreturning to their own country. There was nothing that the police could do in thisregard as the extradition of a criminal was done applied for in exceptionalcircumstances. The possibility of establishing an international policing agency in orderto assist all policing agencies in combating these cross-border crimes wasinvestigated. The first conference was held during 1914 in Monaco. This was the firstof many conferences that would lead to the establishment of the international policingagency known as Interpol. South Africa only joined the organisation in September1993.It is proposed that an operational policy document be drafted and send to all thedivisions of the South African Police Service. This document clearly stipulates howInterpol Pretoria can be of assistance to all the divisions of the South African PoliceService. This includes what must be done when foreign nationals are arrested inSouth Africa and when members of the South African police Service undertake officialjourneys to foreign countries. The document also includes how the component ismanaged, its structure and the nature of its duties. Research has proven that there is a need for a policy document for Interpol Pretoria.It is recommended that the operational policy document be accepted. Once accepted,the document must be converted into a national instruction. The advantages of adocument of this nature are:./' The component already exists and no additional funding is required to establishthe component../' More members of the South African Police Service will be able to make use ofthe services rendered by the component.Of the disadvantages in this regard, is that it is a long-winded procedure that has to befollowed before the document is approved. Visits will have to be undertaken to holdinformation sessions with the commanders within the various provinces.Research has illustrated that policy documents are valuable within the Public Service.The absence of a policy document is not necessarily a disadvantage to certain unitswithin the policing environment but when it comes to available resources not beingoptimally utilized, the reason therefore could be the absence on an operational policy.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University