Police checking for stolen vehicles as part of Operation UMOJA II, Rwanda, March 2008.

Training is a core function of the OASIS programme.

INTERPOL supported police forces in Ghana during the 2008 African Cup of Nations.

As policing and law enforcement enters into the 21 st Century, new challenges arise. International crimes and criminal activities broaden their scope and the need for operational support becomes crucial. Programmes designed to provide countries with sophisticated, efficient crime-fighting tools and technology capable of enhancing the capacity of law enforcement agencies become imperative.

In light of the above, INTERPOL has established a far-reaching initiative known as the Global and Regional Anti-Crime Centers designed to strengthen the ability of police forces to combat transnational crime and terrorism.

Under this initiative, INTERPOL has come up with a regional programme named OASIS Africa - Providing Operational Assistance, Services and Infrastructure Support to African Police Forces designed for the African continent which has received full support from the Federal Republic of Germany.

OASIS Africa aims to develop operational capacities for policing in Africa, and is designed to enhance the capacity to effectively combat and tackle national and international crimes. This will have impact on reinforcing the rule of law, maintaining law and order, thereby allowing economic growth and development in Africa.

The proposal set out by this INTERPOL initiative will help Africa to address the continuous challenges which have been recognized by the Federal Republic of Germany through its funding - 4 Million Euros in 2008 with a commitment to fund the next three years.

OASIS for Africa covers three main integrated goals: capacity building, infrastructure and operations.

Capacity Building:

Goal: Provide training and development projects to increase expertise and to share information and best practices between countries.

OASIS Africa will provide a series of training and development programmes to African police officers within their home countries, Sub-regional bureaus ( Abidjan, Nairobi Harare) and at INTERPOL General Secretariat. These training courses will equip African Police officers at different level with the skills required for investigation, thus building their capacity to address the increasingly globalised and sophisticated nature of crime. T raining in international police cooperation and strategy will also be provided.

Infrastructure:

Goal: Provide African law enforcement with extended and immediate access to INTERPOL’s global secure police communications network and operational police databases, hence enabling efficient fight against transnational crime.

OASIS for Africa aims to provide law enforcement bodies with access to INTERPOL’s Global Secure Communication Network as well as its operational databases. The intention is to upgrade existing equipment in African countries, to extend the usage of INTERPOL’s databases and to provide training on how to get the best from INTERPOL’s services.

Operations:

Goal: To directly assist African member countries in combating criminal activity by providing and facilitating investigative and operational support.

This phase of OASIS will provide operational investigative tools as well as operational support to international police operations on the African continent. Priority will be assigned to joint police operations targeted against high-priority crime areas but oriented towards crime reduction and development of police operational skills. These operations will utilize the capacities and infrastructure that have been put in place.

The direct application of expert skills and coordination of field officers is expected to have immediate results on handling trans-national crime. Allied to these field operations, the programme will also support a criminal intelligence analysis project to assist African countries in creating the analytical tools to support such operations.

INTERPOL recognizes the need to develop similar initiative in other regions. Increasing aid to INTERPOL and support to its projects will allow development of similar initiatives in other regions, thereby boost International police co-operation.

INTERPOL renews its dedication in assisting member countries to improve and develop their operational capacity. INTERPOL will continue to bring the right law enforcement partners around the globe together with the aim of harnessing skills and sharing knowledge to make the world a safer place.