INTERPOL Leadership Contender Calls for More Biometric Data, Private Sector Cooperation

A leading candidate to be the next head of INTERPOL wants to see a bigger role for biometrics and the private sector in international policing.

Stephen Kavanagh, who formerly headed the Essex Police in the UK and currently serves as INTERPOL’s Executive Director of Police Services, is running for the top spot against three other candidates, from Brazil, Pakistan, and Zambia, respectively. INTERPOL’s Executive Committee will nominate one of the candidates after final interviews next month, with a general vote whether to approve him to the post in the fourth quarter.

Speaking to Britain’s Royal United Services Institute, Kavanagh highlighted a growing threat in the “sophisticated and entrepreneurial fusion” of crime and terrorism, which is being aided by digital tools. And, as The National reports, he suggested that giving police greater access to biometric data is one way of fighting against this threat.

“I do not want to see local burglars or graffiti artists put on Interpol biometric systems, but we need to understand this is to be used for the most serious criminality,” he said, adding that law enforcement authorities should be “looking for those areas where INTERPOL is unique, and biometric sharing is one of those.”

Noting that INTERPOL’s budget is smaller than that of Essex Police, Kavanagh said there should be an “ethical” role for the private sector in fighting crime, especially with respect to investigative technologies.

Kavanagh emphasized the need for “a global mindset” in policing that considers macro-scale factors such as climate change, disease, and poverty. He suggested INTERPOL should help to foster a global culture of “connecting, communicating and coordinating.”

Kavanagh’s comments come shortly after INTERPOL issued an open call for tenders in search of “mobile biometric collection devices and associated solutions.” The global police agency expressed an interest in working with one or more vendors on the project.

Source: The National

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May 29, 2024 – by Alex Perala