LYON, France – INTERPOL has reached another milestone in its drive to connect all member countries to its global police communications system, known as I-24/7. Equatorial Guinea has become the 180th member country to be linked to the system, leaving just four more countries to go before all are connected.
INTERPOL has connected many African countries, including Equatorial Guinea, to I-24/7 by satellite in order to overcome major technical challenges in the region. The four countries yet to be connected are Somalia, Sudan, Central African Republic and Guinea Bissau.
The I-24/7 system provides police with direct access to INTERPOL databases relating to international criminals, stolen travel documents, stolen vehicles, fingerprints, DNA and other crucial information. It also provides a secure electronic police information exchange system restricted exclusively to the 184 member countries that make up the INTERPOL community.
Operating over the Internet on a highly secure encrypted virtual private network, I-24/7 is revolutionizing police communication throughout the world. However, due to the nature of the telecommunications infrastructure in the African region, INTERPOL is supporting the investment and operating costs for satellite connections as well as the necessary computer and office equipment to access the system.
INTERPOL is committed to ensuring that no member country is excluded from INTERPOL services for financial or technical reasons and has contracted with several private sector companies to provide its National Central Bureaus in Africa with sophisticated satellite connection to I-24/7.
Global security can only be enhanced if all countries have access to the full range of police communication services provided by INTERPOL. African law enforcement agencies must also be able to collaborate effectively with one another and with agencies elsewhere across the globe. INTERPOL's I-24/7 system is the only policing tool that enables them to do this.
The I-24/7 system, introduced in 2003, replaces INTERPOL's older electronic police communications network known as X-400.