- World
- Sep 07
International police cooperation helps tackle cross-border crime
• The International Day of Police Cooperation is observed annually on September 7 to underscore the importance of international cooperation in supporting national police and law enforcement agencies.
• It highlights the vital role of cross-border police collaboration in advancing peace, security, and justice, reflecting the shared commitment of the United Nations, INTERPOL, Member States, and regional organisations to strengthening international police cooperation.
• The Day also serves as a platform to promote continued efforts to strengthen international cooperation in support of national policing and law enforcement, including through a more coherent and coordinated “One UN” approach to policing.
• Partnerships among the United Nations, INTERPOL and regional policing organisations are essential to protecting victims, disrupting criminal networks, sharing critical information and strengthening policing capacities across borders.
• Effective policing depends not only on operational capacity, but also on public trust.
• In a rapidly evolving security environment, sustaining legitimacy and trust is essential.
Importance of international cooperation among police forces
• As criminal networks increasingly exploit weak institutions and operate across borders, no police force can tackle them alone.
• Organised crime is responsible for about 95,000 homicides each year, and about one-fifth of global intentional homicides are at the hands of organised criminal groups, according to the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).
• Police forces are frequently limited by these borders, while criminals are not.
• International police cooperation allows law enforcement agencies to share information, coordinate investigations and respond to crimes that occur across jurisdictions.
• By working together across borders, law enforcement agencies can better support survivors, apprehend perpetrators, disrupt criminal networks and advance safety for all.
• One of the main platforms for that cooperation is the International Criminal Police Organisation (INTERPOL), which connects police forces in 196 countries to share data on crimes and criminals, even as national police remain responsible for investigating crimes and enforcing domestic law.
• Along with INTERPOL, the UN also works with regional policing organizations and national authorities to strengthen the ability of police forces to operate across borders.
• For more than six decades, UN Police have worked alongside UN peacekeeping and special political missions in places where conflict has weakened the rule of law and eroded public trust in judicial institutions.
• More than 7,700 UN Police personnel are authorised to serve across 14 peace operations worldwide, helping to protect civilians and human rights, strengthen national police services and support countries’ transitions from conflict to peace.
• UN Police do not serve as global police forces and generally do not make arrests or replace national law enforcement. Instead, officers protect civilians, advise and train national police, and help rebuild law enforcement institutions.
• The UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) provides technical assistance to countries working to prevent and prosecute organised crime, trafficking, corruption and other transnational crimes.
• The UN’s Inter-Agency Task Force on Policing helps coordinate policing-related work across UN entities, promoting a coherent approach and helping avoid overlap.
• These partnerships are becoming increasingly important as conflict, displacement and other crises create new opportunities for criminal networks to exploit vulnerable people.