Interpol Touts Communications System At Africa Conference

CRIME AND PUNISHMENT

Accra, Ghana (AFP) Jul 14, 2005
Police officers around Africa will soon, at the touch of a button, be able to access an array of data to help their fight against crime and terrorism, Interpol officials said Thursday.

The I-24/7 platform aims to provide a exhaustive database of names, photographs and information about criminals, stolen goods and terrorist plots to a web of police bureaus both on the continent and globally.

"With more countries getting hooked up to I-24/7, we will be able to assist tremendously in the tracking of cross-border criminals," said platform director Adamu Mohammed on the second day of Interpol's 18th Africa Regional Conference, attended by top law enforcement officers from 41 countries in Africa.

The communications system has been in operation since January 2003, over time connecting police bureaus in the majority of Interpol's 182 members, and the agency aims to expand its use to assist coast guard, border patrol and airport security officials as well.

Implementation of the system in Africa has stalled, however, due to a deficiency in infrastructure, though connection is envisioned in the near future through a satellite system.

Ghana, the host of this year's conference, became the latest country to join the I-24/7 system, bringing the total number of participants to 158.

The conference opened Wednesday with a warning that the most serious threat to African security was the proliferation of small arms.

While southern and eastern Africa have achieved some success in collecting such weapons, collection efforts in west Africa remained unsatisfactory, Mohammed said.

The three-day conference, which ends Friday, was also to focus on improving cooperation between police information on the continent, crucial in light of the mounting potential for remote parts of Africa to become safe havens for international terrorist groups.

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TERRORWARS

Analysis: EU And The Terror Fight

Brussels (UPI) Jul 12, 2005
The British government, which currently holds the rotating presidency of the European Union, sent its heavy-hitters to Brussels Tuesday to make the case for tougher EU anti-terrorist measures in the wake of last week's London bombings.

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