Another Kind of Interpol for NYC

To most New Yorkers, Interpol is a band. But this week it was announced that the NYPD will be able to access Interpol data to track international criminals. Interpol is the world's international police organization and keeps criminal data, like photographs and fingerprints, in a database that is accessed by many countries. It seems like police departments of the U.S.'s major cities should have had access to Interpol sooner, but NYC will be the first U.S. city to gain access (with others following by next summer). Besides being a way to see if someone stopped on the street may be wanted for criminal activity in another country, the Interpol access is to help fight terrorism as criminals in the database was starting to be flagged as having terrorist ties.

The New York City Police Department

Gothamist became familiar with Interpol, the police agency, at a young age because of Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego.