By Zhu Zhe (China Daily)
Updated: 2007-09-11 07:21

The International Criminal Police Organization, better known by its telegraphic address Interpol, will post a task force in Beijing next year to help China with the security for the Olympic Games.

It will also help ensure a rapid exchange of vital crime-related information, Interpol Secretary-General Ronald Noble said in Beijing yesterday.

The Major Event Support Team will be in Beijing before the Games, and its major task will be to establish better coordination among all the Interpol's 186 member countries and make sure that information is shared efficiently, Noble told China Daily.

The information will include the names, fingerprints, photographs, DNA profiles and criminal modus operandi of those who pose potential threat to the Games.

China will have automated access to Interpol's passport and visa application screening processes, giving it the most advanced early detection system against fake travel documents and criminals, Noble said.

"We would like to bring our information to frontline Chinese officers to help ensure a safe Games.

"With access to our database, China can compare the visa applications and travel documents with information from our 186 members to identify who might be dangerous and prevent them from entering (the country)."

As the Games approaches Interpol's command and coordination center and its criminal data processing unit at its headquarters will accord the highest priority to information relevant to the security of the Games, he said.

Its analytical unit will generate strategic and terrorist specific reports tailored to the needs of China.

For example, if China doubts the identity of a person entering the country, it can send his/her name or fingerprint to Interpol, which will then circulate the information among its member countries and gather as much information on him/her.

Information sharing

"Ideally, and I believe China will do this way: Interpol and its network of 186 member countries' central bureaus can be housed and work side by side in the Olympic Village Command Center with liaison police and security officials from across the world to make sure information is shared as quickly and efficiently as possible," Noble said.

The secretary-general said the large number of athletes and visitors to the Games and billions of people watching TV will make the global event a prime potential target for terrorists.

"Their (terrorists') desire to harm us and their threat against us remain real," he said.

Noble warned that accidents could happen during the Olympic torch relay because it will travel through 135 cities across the world for 130 days.

The athletes leaving their homes could be attacked somewhere along the way, and there is a possibility of planes being hijacked and other such emergencies during the Games, he added.

Noble stressed the success of the Beijing Games will not be measured only by the success achieved by the athletes that people will see readily, but also by what people are not likely to see.

"The absence of a terrorist incident and serious criminal activity will be an equally important measure of the success," he said.

Noble said he respects what China has done to secure the Olympics, and Interpol, with all its members, will like to offer strong support to China's efforts to host a safe Games.

"Our goal is one and the same: to allow the Games to begin, proceed and conclude in a safe and secure atmosphere," the secretary-general said.

"And we're confident that the goal could be achieved with the joint effort of the entire international community."

Noble is in Beijing to attend the International Conference on Security Cooperation for the 2008 Olympic Games. The meeting ends today.