By Dan Jarvis
It is a genuinely great pleasure to be here. Although, in other circumstances, a government minister coming to the attention of this many members of INTERPOL would perhaps mean there was a colossal scandal brewing.
Hopefully, that is not the case. I feel the same way about INTERPOL that I felt about my former colleagues in the British Army’s Parachute Regiment: thank goodness we’re on the same side!
INTERPOL does vital work and it does it superbly well. You are rightly known and celebrated for it right across the world. This has been a year of change. INTERPOL has a new secretary-general, congratulations.
Nine positions on the executive committee are taken by new representatives from right around the world. Thank you to those whose terms have just ended. Now I know that you are all ultra-determined and ready to help INTERPOL go from strength to even greater strength.
It is a great privilege to be your colleague – and I want to say a massive thank you to you all on behalf of the UK Government. Thank you, too, for attending the 92nd INTERPOL General Assembly. We have really enjoyed hosting you here in Glasgow. We’re proud, once again, that Glasgow has played host to the world – the INTERPOL General Assembly is yet another major feather in its cap. You have used the last four days to discuss many of our most pressing security challenges.
The security threat is ever present and ever more complex. We are called to fight on multiple fronts; from stopping the abuse of children; to recovering millions for the victims of fraud; to countering terrorist activity. I know you have heard this from our prime minister, at the beginning of this conference, but it is something that bears constant repetition: criminals do not respect borders.
Governments must respect borders, and countries need to work together to fight crime and terrorism. And, of course, the task is just not to keep up with criminals and terrorists. It’s even more demanding than that. The task is to stay ahead of them. So international co-operation – not just between governments but between law enforcement agencies – is utterly vital.
Working together in an inclusive way, we can innovate to outsmart criminality. This may be a general assembly, but it’s more than that too. I know that we are all ruthlessly focused on tangible outcomes – on cutting crime. And I know that what you have agreed over the last four days is yet another big step forward to support that goal.
I’d like to say a brief word about two of the challenges which are part of my ministerial role: the fight against fraud and financial crime and the fight against terrorism.
Fraud and financial crime have a devastating effect. They bring misery and hardship to individuals and they are used to fund other crimes. Left unchecked, they will undermine investment and wreak havoc on national economies. Last year, the Global Organised Crime Index Fund found that financial crime is in the top three most substantial criminal enterprises in almost every continent.
Financial crime has a ‘significant’ to ‘severe’ influence in 132 countries. That is a devastating figure – and represents harm to the livelihoods – and even lives – of millions. This really matters – and we need better and bolder solutions now. And, inevitably, fraud and financial crime is particularly likely to be conducted across national borders.
The UK is a world leader in tackling bribery and corruption. Our National Crime Agency is doing sterling work in this field. One case demonstrated the agency’s ability to operate at speed in investigating bribery in action. Two individuals were charged in August 2023 after requesting substantial sums of money to help secure an exclusive mining joint venture with the government of Madagascar.The pair attempted to solicit a bribe from Gemfields, a UK based company that specialises in the responsible mining of rubies and emeralds.
Suspicious of the pair’s intentions, Gemfields reported concerns about corruption to the NCA, who used all tools and tactics in the pursuit of justice. Sure enough, prison sentences followed. The case is a sobering reminder that criminals will exploit any possible angle and that there is no depth to which they will not stoop. We must work together to defeat fraudsters and others who operate internationally. Yet the case also reminds us that many, indeed most, businesses are run by decent and responsible people and that world class professionals can get ahead of criminals and apprehend them.
I also want to say something briefly about terrorism. The terrorist threat to the global community is unrelenting and evolving. Moreover, the risk is rising. Despite a prevalence of lower sophistication attacks in the UK, the threat we see today – and that we anticipate in the coming years – is more diverse, more dynamic, and more complex than ever.
Firstly, the domestic terrorist threat is less predictable – and harder to detect and investigate. And there is always a persistent and evolving threat from terrorist groups overseas. And this is not a challenge we face alone.
Accelerating advances in technology bring both risks and opportunities for our counter-terrorism efforts. And many terrorist groups are transnational. All of this being so, our international partnerships are absolutely crucial. That very much includes those formed within the INTERPOL grouping. I encourage you all to think about how we can better cooperate and collaborate, in increasingly innovative ways, to help keep our citizens safe.
The UK funds INTERPOL’s joint programme with the United Nations to counter chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear terror. This five-year initiative is developing strategic threat assessments against CBRNE using national law enforcement information. It helps the international community counter the threat posed by non-state actors’ access to CBRNE materials.
At the launch in 2020, INTERPOL’s executive director of Police Services Stephen Kavanagh, said:
“While the terrorist threat is global, it impacts regions differently and therefore requires a tailored approach from law enforcement, policy makers and other stakeholders.”
This is an excellent point: international co-operation on crime does not necessarily demand a one-size-fits-all approach.
As this General Assembly draws to a close, and knowing that all of you today have gathered together to renew your commitment to fight crime together, I feel confident about the future, so long as we keep our collective eye on the horizon and beyond.
In many ways we are now more connected than ever before – and yet we still have much more to do to help keep people safe. I promise you that the UK will continue to be a central player in this effort and that we will remain a steadfast partner of INTERPOL.
