INTERPOL General Assembly endorses I-Checkit as innovative border management policing capability

KIGALI, Rwanda – INTERPOL’s member countries have endorsed through a resolution its I-Checkit service model for airlines as a key component of the Organization’s global border management strategy.
 
As an innovative solution intended to complement and enhance national border security systems, I-Checkit allows trusted partners to conduct advanced passenger checks in real time against INTERPOL’s global databases, including its Stolen and Lost Travel Documents (SLTD) database.
 
Police chiefs and senior law enforcement officials meeting at INTERPOL’s 84th General Assembly endorsed the resolution following a 16-month pilot project with AirAsia which demonstrated the value of I-Checkit in mitigating the criminal risks that are behind identity fraud and in gathering police intelligence, especially in countries without fully integrated border solutions.
 
“By endorsing I-Checkit, INTERPOL’s member countries have recognized that to successfully evolve and adapt to changes, the future landscape for international policing includes strategic and innovative partnerships between law enforcement and the private sector,” said INTERPOL Secretary General Jürgen Stock.

INTERPOL’s member countries endorsed through a Resolution its I-Checkit service model for airlines as a key component of the Organization’s global border management strategy.

The Resolution approved by INTERPOL’s General Assembly calls upon member countries to support I-Checkit’s continued development by allowing for queries against national SLTD data with the appropriate controls applied under provisions on data protection.

“By endorsing I-Checkit, INTERPOL’s member countries have recognized that to successfully evolve and adapt to changes that the future landscape for international policing includes strategic and innovative partnerships between law enforcement and the private sector,” said INTERPOL Secretary General Jürgen Stock.

Michael O’Connell, Director of Operational Support and Analysis, addressing the 84th INTERPOL General Assembly, said that I-Checkit could become an invaluable investigative and preventative policing component so as to help deliver safer communities.

I-Checkit allows trusted partners to conduct advanced passenger checks in real time against INTERPOL’s global databases, including its Stolen and Lost Travel Documents (SLTD) database.

AirAsia was the first airline to implement the I-Checkit system – its successful 16-month pilot demonstrated the value of I-Checkit in mitigating the criminal risks that are behind identity fraud.

Following successful tests within the airline industry, I-Checkit will be piloted in the maritime transportation sector.

I-Checkit was created to allow airlines to instantaneously check whether a person intending to board an international flight is using a passport registered with INTERPOL as stolen or lost. It takes less than 0.5 seconds to query INTERPOL’s database once a passport is scanned.

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The resolution approved by INTERPOL’s General Assembly calls upon member countries to support I-Checkit’s continued development by allowing for queries against national SLTD data with the appropriate controls applied under provisions on data protection.
 
“Organized criminal groups and terrorists use stolen travel documents to conceal their identities and cross borders undetected. Given this threat, and faced with increasing volumes of international passengers, countries need to heighten their border control and identity management measures,” said INTERPOL’s Director of Operational Support and Analysis, Michael O’Connell.
 
“With its real-time secure alert system, intelligence potential and compliance framework, I-Checkit can become an invaluable police investigative and preventative capability so as to help deliver safer communities,” added Mr O’Connell.
 
Under the General Assembly resolution, in cooperation with its National Central Bureaus, INTERPOL’s General Secretariat’s future plans include testing I-Checkit in other industries exploited by criminals using stolen identities to undertake illicit transactions.

Over the course of 2016, the I-Checkit solution will be piloted in the maritime transportation sector. Current testing with a small number of companies in the hotel and banking sectors will also continue.