Terrorists Strike Fast... Interpol has to Move Faster... Ron Noble is on the Case

Crime and Management
Clearly, Interpol's hours had to change. How could the headquarters of a global law-enforcement agency operate like a bank or an insurance company: 8-to-6, five days a week? "If we get a request on Friday night to issue a red notice about someone who poses an immediate threat, we can't wait until Monday morning to act," says Noble. "We have to be available 24 hours a day." Now they are.

In many ways, Interpol grapples with the very same performance issues that businesses do. Creating quality products. Providing timely, reliable service. Understanding the needs of customers.

One of Interpol's most valuable assets is its ability to distribute alerts to law-enforcement officers around the world. In 2001, more than 1,400 people were arrested or found as a result of its notices. But until September of last year, notices took four to six months to issue. They had to be reviewed for accuracy, translated into Interpol's four official languages (English, French, Spanish, and Noble's latest addition, Arabic), then printed, stuffed into envelopes, and mailed -- third class, to cut costs. Email? Why bother? The previous secretary general never used it.

Today, the most critical notice requests get translated immediately and distributed online within 24 hours. In the communications center at headquarters, there's a world map with lights indicating the NCBs. By entering a computer command, a woman from the communications office demonstrates how quickly a message can travel the planet. It's impressive, but it's not entirely realistic. Noble concedes that 80 of the NCBs lack the technology needed to send and receive Interpol's messages. Until Interpol can supply them with the equipment they need, those NCBs will continue to issue most alerts by mail. With the money saved through electronic notices, though, Interpol now has the NCBs send their alerts via express delivery service.

As part of the reorganization, Noble reduced the number of special crime groups to five: public safety and terrorism, fugitives, organized crime and drugs, financial and high-tech crimes, and trafficking in human beings. He also trimmed those groups and reassigned officers to geographically based teams that work directly with regional and national law-enforcement agencies. He wants Interpol to be closer to its customers. "The local focus enables us to be more responsive to our member countries," says Noble. "We want to know, What are your problems in Tajikistan? In Canada? In Colombia? You know the expression 'All politics is local'? Well, all international crime is local crime."

Interpol is trying to act rather than react. "We want to be a step ahead of the criminals," says Jan Austad, an officer in the trafficking-in-human-beings division. Interpol's people are examining incoming messages for leads, creating intelligence that only Interpol, with its global perspective, can provide on, say, online child pornography. This year, Interpol is conducting its first "global threat assessment," culling information on terrorism groups, organized crime, and criminal techniques from its members. Noble, sounding like a savvy corporate strategist, refers to that sort of intelligence as "Interpol's added value."

In April, one country ("Sorry, I can't say which one," says Noble) asked Interpol for a list of known or suspected terrorists. Spicka and a colleague spent the weekend assembling Interpol's first international terrorist watch list, which included more than 1,000 individuals. Just as important are two other new lists: individuals or groups who are known to be (or suspected of) funding terrorism and a record of stolen, unassigned passports. Without passports, says Spicka, who is on assignment from the Secret Service, terrorists can't move so freely.

The reason that criminals leave one country for another is to avoid capture; they rely on a lack of coordination between law-enforcement authorities. Interpol acts as a bridge to keep the investigation going. For instance, Noble says, earlier this year, a man was arrested in Malaysia for fraud. When the authorities entered his name into the national crime database, nothing came up; he appeared to be a first-time offender. When they checked the Interpol database, however, they discovered that they'd captured one of the 10 most-wanted criminals from the Philippines. That, says Noble, is the impact of Interpol.

Life of Crime (Fighting)
"I'd like you to read something," says Noble. He's between meetings, talking about why his job at Interpol is such a good fit. He hands over a copy of the speech that he delivered at Interpol's general assembly on the Greek island of Rhodes two years ago, when he was elected secretary general. In order to truly know me, Noble told the crowd, you have to know about my parents. His mother is German. His father is African-American. They met while Noble's father was an American soldier stationed in Germany after World War II. Although they spoke different languages, followed different religions, and were of different races, theirs has been a close union for 48 years. "Thanks to them, I simply won't accept that we can't work together because we come from different parts of the world or have had different experiences," Noble told the assembly.