Since completing the first session of the year in late January, the staff and commission members of the Commission for the Control of INTERPOL’s Files (CCF) are likely a bit tired.  

Each year, the number of Red Notices grows.  In January, INTERPOL’s Secretary General, Ronald Noble, confirmed that the number of wanted notices in 2011 had increased by a full 50%, from 50,000 to 75,000. Included in that increase are 10,000 new Red Notices.  

Such an large increase over such a short period of time can be attributed to INTERPOL’s having allowed its member countries greater access to its databases, and greater authority to enter information into those databases.

What this means for the staff of the CCF is more work.  Naturally, an increase in the number of notices accompanies an increase in challenges by individuals who are the subjects of those notices and their attorneys.  As those challenges come in, more of them will likely have increased validity than in years past.  Since the safety mechanisms related to the relatively new increased database access are still settling into place, the CCF staffers should feel comfortable in the knowledge that their job security won’t be an issue for quite some time.

As always, questions and comments are welcomed.