CURAÇAO

Fighting Caribbean crime

Located on shipping routes linking the Americas, the Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean Sea, the Caribbean is an archipelago of 7,000 islands which are challenging for law enforcement to monitor.

With the region proving increasingly attractive to organized crime networks seeking a regional hub to engage in a multitude of serious crimes, Caribbean police forces face the serious crime which comes with drug trafficking, such as trafficking in firearms, people and counterfeit goods, in addition to money laundering and bulk cash smuggling.

The international characteristics of these crime areas and their links with organized crime groups around the world make the role of INTERPOL National Central Bureaus (NCBs) in the Caribbean fundamental to maintaining national and regional security.

INTERPOL in Curacao

Located in the capital Willemstad, the Curacao NCB is headed by a Chief Inspector of Police and staffed by highly-trained specialized officers, criminal analysts, researchers and technical specialists.

Under the command of the Minister of Justice and judicial supervision of the Attorney General, INTERPOL Curaçao is an independent government unit within the Ministry of Justice. It is the exclusive point of contact between national law enforcement agencies, including the National Police Force, and INTERPOL's international law enforcement community.

By providing globally-sourced intelligence about regional crime, the NCB helps police officers across the country to detect and investigate the flow of illicit goods along trafficking routes in and around the country. It plays a central role in preventing the country and surrounding region from serving international organized crime.

The Willemstad NCB conducts regional and global crime analysis in cooperation with NCBs worldwide, sharing intelligence on emerging land, sea and air trafficking routes, production zones, transportation and concealment methods.

Law enforcement in Curacao

Law enforcement services in Curacao are provided by the Curacao Police Force (Korps Politie Curacao).