How and why should I check my personal data in the Interpol database?
The problem of abuse of the Interpol system by authoritarian regimes remains relevant, despite numerous statements by human rights activists and many years of attempts to remedy the situation. Even finding out whether a person is wanted can be difficult. Most countries do not make this information publicly available or may deny lawyers access to some notices. So if you suspect that you are wanted by Interpol, there are several ways for you to find out if there is wanted information in international police databases.
1. Checking on the Interpol website
Firstly, you can go to the Wanted persons section of the Interpol website, where, to see the available data, you just need to enter your first and last name in English transcription (as in your passport). If the card is in the public domain, it will be possible to find out that a person is wanted by Interpol instantly and free of charge. All matches as a result of the checks are displayed directly on the website.
The main problem is that in the open part of the database there are on average 6-7 thousand Red Notices out of 60-70 thousand placed in the database. In addition, apart from Red Notices (so-called "red circular"), a person can also be wanted through another mechanism, Red diffusions. And there are even more of them in the Interpol database (120-130 thousand on average) and they are not made publicly available. Accordingly, only 3-4% of all persons wanted by Interpol are posted on the website, and therefore it may not be enough to check on the Interpol website.
2. Request to the Commission for the Control of INTERPOL’s Files (CCF)
We can send a formal enquiry to the Commission for the Control of INTERPOL’s Files. This service covers all possible Interpol searches, including red notices and diffusions for which an arrest is possible. If a country has closed access to your data, CCF will still notify us of this fact.
Access to wanted information is uthorized by a power of attorney. The power of attorney is based on our template and does not need notarization, but the original must be sent by post to our secretariat.
The period of verification through Interpol databases via the Commission for the Control of INTERPOL’s Files has increased in recent years and is now 3-4 months.
3. Request about Interpol file through the national police
In addition, we can make a formal request to the police in countries where our lawyers have licences. At the moment of writing this text these are Czech Republic, Spain, Ukraine, Poland, Lithuania (you can ask our representative for an up-to-date list). This service also covers all possible types of Interpol searches.
Interpol search through the police is also carried out on the basis of a power of attorney based on our template. In this case there is no need to send the original by post, it will be enough to send it to us electronically. However, the request form and the power of attorney form require the address of registration of the person being checked.
The verification period when applying through the national police is from a few days to a month (the period depends on the country, availability of data in the database and other factors).
4. Other checks
In addition to the possibility to check Red Notice and diffusion against the Interpol database, we offer preparation and sending of other official requests to both international organisations and national authorities of a number of countries. For example, CIS search database, Schengen Information System (SIS), World Check database, Politically Exposed Persons (PEP) database and others.
The official check in the database, although longer, but much more reliable and usually much cheaper than the services of so-called solvers offering chec information in various databases including Interpol.
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The cost of our services is specified in the Tariffs section. If you still have questions, you can write to our email or write / call in our messengers. Please note that we only answer calls between 9:00 and 17:00 CET (UTC+1).
Don't leave your security to chance. Get peace of mind today by checking your status with Interpol. Our team of experts is ready to help you get accurate and confidential results. Contact us via our email or messengers to start your check. Act without delay to stay one step ahead and protect your reputation and freedom!
