Interpol is an intergovernmental organization that enables police in its 194 member countries to jointly fight international crimes. Interpol does not have executive powers, that is why it does not arrest suspects or act without the approval of national authorities. Interpol notices are international requests for cooperation or alerts allowing police in member countries to share critical crime-related information. Notices are published by the General Secretariat at the request of a National Central Bureau and are made available to all the member countries.
There are seven major types of notices like red notice, blue notice, green notice, black notice, yellow notice, modus notice, Modus Operandi notice and orange notice. However, the General Secretariat publishes only blue or green notices on its own. In this article, we will be discussing RED NOTICE.
In order to avoid criminal charges, suspects often fly to another country. An RN (RED NOTICE) alerts police forces in all the countries about fugitives wanted on an international level. An Interpol Warrant describes an RN as a request to law enforcement agencies all across the world to search, locate and provisionally arrest a person pending extradition, surrender, or similar legal action.
RNs contain information that is used for the identification of the wanted persons, such as name, age, nationality and physical appearances like color, hair and eyes. These apart, it also possesses pictures of the wanted persons. It includes biometric data as well as fingerprints and the description of crimes committed by the person.
An RN can be published by Interpol at the request of a member country as well to prosecute fugitives or to make them serve the given punishment. The country issuing the notice can be a country other than the home country of the fugitive as Interpol acts on the request of the state where the person has been charged with a crime. For example, if A is a citizen of the US but has committed a crime in India and India (being a member country) can issue a Red Notice despite that person being a US citizen.
Most RNs are restricted to the use of police only. Where help of the public is required to locate an individual, or in the case where the individual is a threat to public safety, a public notice of the RN is published on Interpol’s website.
Interpol looks for individuals on behalf of its member countries and not for itself. Like in the above-mentioned example the Red Notice will be issued by Interpol on behalf of India. Similarly, an RN is a notice for the individual wanted internationally. Therefore the Interpol cannot compel the countries to arrest the concerned individual. It depends upon the countries and their laws as to how much importance should be given to an RN within their territory and the authority of the officers to make the arrest.
An Interpol red notice does not always mean extradition (to send an accused person to another country for the trial). The law enforcement in the country where an individual is arrested can decide if extradition is justified. Extradition decisions are based on the seriousness of the red notice and the level of cooperation between the requesting country and the arresting country.
Ultimately the laws of the arresting country determine the decisions to be taken regarding extradition. For example, if the person (being a US citizen) wanted by India has been detained in Dubai, for the crime he committed in India due to a Red Notice, but if the act he is accused of is not a crime in Dubai or the law enforcement in Dubai does not see it as a valid Red Notice, they don’t have to hand over or arrest the person for whom the Red Notice has been issued.
There is a wide misconception about the Interpol Red Notices that they are international arrest warrants, they are not. It is the closest instrument to an international arrest warrant in use presently. A Red Notice is an internationally wanted person’s notice and not an arrest warrant.
The Interpol says that an RN must comply with its rules as it has mentioned on the website that every Red Notice request is checked by a specialized task force to ensure it is compliant with its rules. Interpol argues that an RN is issued only after a competent court has taken cognizance of the charge sheet against the fugitive.
Interpol Red Notices are valid for 5 years and can be withdrawn earlier if requested by the country and its issuance and duration can also be extended at the request of the interested country (of issuance).
Upon issuing a red notice, a law enforcement agent will likely attempt to restrict travel or trade. In many countries, border authorities and police officers are required to arrest individuals who are subject to red notices. The bank account of the wanted person may also be shut down.
Few of the well-known names in India have been added to Interpol’s red list, such as Dawood Ibrahim, Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi. So, the Red Notice is an important tool in getting international police cooperation to detain the wanted person and deliver justice.
To understand Interpol thoroughly visit https://www.interpol.int/en
To search Red Notice visit https://www.interpol.int/en/How-we-work/Notices/View-Red-Notices
