African cops get hi-tech tools

2005-07-15 11:12

Accra - 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 on 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.

Expanding communications system

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 on 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 on Friday, was also to focus on improving co-operation 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.

- AFP