Stephen Kavanagh, the UK Candidate for INTERPOL Secretary General, delivered RUSI’s Annual Security Lecture, reflecting on the transnational challenges posed by organised crime and the imperative of strengthening cooperation between countries in addressing the threat.
Mr Kavanagh used the lecture to reflect on the most pressing crime threats from a global perspective. Warning that traditional policing methods are inadequate to address a new global era of crime, he outlined his vision of how governments should come together in a community built on trust, resilience and strategic readiness to protect the public from these transnational threats.
In particular, Mr Kavanagh noted that the phenomenon of crime remains deeply misunderstood and underestimated and highlighted the urgent need for a more coordinated and comprehensive approach to the threat from global law enforcement. He discussed the key role of INTERPOL as the only global law enforcement agency connecting 196 countries and devoted to combating transnational criminal activities from drugs to firearms trafficking and online child sexual abuse. The organisation is uniquely placed to act as a catalyst, a connector and a coordinator, as crime becomes more complex and borderless.
The conversation and Q and A session that followed Mr Kavanagh’s lecture was chaired by James Landale, BBC’s Diplomatic Correspondent.
INTERPOL Executive Director of Police Services Stephen Kavanagh, who is standing as the UK candidate in this year’s election for the next INTERPOL Secretary-General, said:
No country is an island or a fortress when it comes to today’s global criminality. Each of us is affected by it whether as victims or passively in the measures we must take and the costs we must bear to avoid it. Meeting this challenge means recognising the new era of crime for the pandemic that it is and marshalling the will, resources and partnerships to take it on. The global harms and damage they are causing are incalculable and inter-generational. We need a new era of responsibility and partnership to match the new era of crime. We need a concerted global commitment from everyone with an interest in reducing crime and promoting safer, secure communities. And we will need optimism and determination to end the harm that millions of victims across the world endure every single day.
INTERPOL Executive Director of Police Services Stephen Kavanagh
Reflecting on Mr Kavanagh’s address, Cathy Haenlein, Director of RUSI’s Organised Crime and Policing Research Group said:
Organised crime is a growing threat across our increasingly inter-connected world, causing serious harm to individuals, communities, governments and industry. The transnational nature of a wide range of organised crime challenges makes a coordinated international response essential. Mr Kavanagh’s address and Q and A provided an insight into how he would look to provide a coordinated, robust response to these threats as INTERPOL Secretary General.
Cathy Haenlein
Director of Organised Crime and Policing Studies