Interpol

International Criminal Police Organization
Interpol
Formation	1923
Headquarters	Lyon, France
Membership	186 member states
Official languages	Arabic, English, French and Spanish
Secretary General	Ronald K. Noble
Website	Interpol's official website

Interpol, or International Criminal Police Organization, was established as The International Criminal Police Commission in 1923 to assist international criminal police cooperation. It adopted its telegraphic address in its name in 1956.

Interpol is the world's third largest international organization, after the United Nations and FIFA, with 186 member countries financed by annual contributions of about €41.7 million from its member countries. Europol, by comparison, receives €63.4 million annually. The organization is headquartered in Lyon, France after moving from Saint Cloud, a town near Paris. Mr. Jackie Selebi, National Commissioner of the South African Police Service, is serving as president. The current secretary general, Ronald K. Noble, formerly of the United States Treasury, is the first non-European to hold the position.

Because of the politically neutral role Interpol must play, its constitution forbids any involvement in crimes that do not overlap several member countries, or any political, military, religious, or racial crimes. Its work focuses primarily on public safety, terrorism, organized crime, war crimes, illicit drug production, drug trafficking, weapons smuggling, trafficking in human beings, money laundering, child pornography, white-collar crime, high-tech crime, and corruption.

In 2005, the Interpol General Secretariat employed a staff of 502, representing 78 member countries. Women comprised 42 percent of the staff. The Interpol public web site - www.interpol.int - received an average of 2.2 million page visits every month. Following the publication of an Interpol Red Notice or difusión roja, 3,500 people were arrested by police in 2005.