The Founding of Interpol (1923)
On September 7, 1923, delegates gathered in Vienna, Austria, to establish the International Criminal Police Commission, laying the groundwork for what would become Interpol. Conceived as a mechanism for national police forces to share information and pursue criminals across borders, the organization has grown into the world's largest international police body. Today it links 196 member countries through a headquarters in Lyon, France, and a global network of National Central Bureaus.
Origins in Vienna
In the aftermath of World War I, criminals increasingly exploited the ease of crossing national borders to escape prosecution, while police forces remained bound by strict jurisdictional limits. Recognizing this growing problem, Johann Schober, the president of the Vienna police, invited law enforcement officials from across Europe and beyond to a congress in Vienna in September 1923. On September 7, delegates from 20 countries formally established the International Criminal Police Commission (ICPC), with Schober serving as its first president. The organization's founding mission was straightforward but ambitious: to create a permanent structure through which police agencies could exchange information about wanted criminals, stolen property, and emerging criminal methods, regardless of national boundaries. Vienna became the Commission's first headquarters, and the organization began building relationships between police forces that had previously operated in near-total isolation from one another. Though modest in scope at first, the Vienna congress represented a pioneering acknowledgment that crime was becoming an international phenomenon requiring international solutions. The ICPC's early years focused on standardizing extradition procedures and establishing communication channels, setting precedents that would shape policing cooperation for the century to follow.
Did You Know?
Interpol's headquarters were seized by the Nazis after Austria's 1938 annexation, and the organization's archives were relocated to Berlin under the Reich Security Main Office—the same agency that oversaw the Gestapo—before police officials rebuilt it from scratch in Paris in 1946.
Surviving War and Rebuilding
The Commission's early momentum was violently interrupted by the rise of Nazi Germany. After the annexation of Austria in 1938, Nazi officials seized control of the organization's Vienna headquarters and records, and by 1942 the Commission had effectively become an instrument of Nazi policing rather than an independent international body. Its archives and operations were later relocated to Berlin under the control of the Reich Security Main Office, a dark chapter that nearly extinguished the organization entirely. Following Germany's defeat in 1945, police officials from surviving Allied and neutral nations moved quickly to reconstitute the Commission on legitimate footing. In 1946, the organization was reestablished with its headquarters relocated to Paris, France, marking a fresh start free from the wartime corruption of its structures. This postwar rebirth proved crucial to the Commission's long-term survival and credibility. During this period, the organization also adopted the telegraphic code name 'INTERPOL,' a contraction of 'international police,' which by 1956 had become its official name: the International Criminal Police Organization–INTERPOL. The rebuilding effort in the late 1940s established many of the operational protocols, including standardized notice systems for alerting member countries about fugitives, that remain central to Interpol's work today.
Growth Into a Global Institution
From its modest postwar base, Interpol expanded dramatically over subsequent decades, reflecting the growing complexity of transnational crime including drug trafficking, human trafficking, cybercrime, and terrorism. In 1989, the organization relocated its headquarters to Lyon, France, where it remains today, operating from a purpose-built facility that houses advanced databases and communication systems linking police forces worldwide. Interpol established seven regional bureaus across the globe to better coordinate operations tailored to local needs, from Buenos Aires to Yaoundé to Bangkok. Central to its function is the requirement that each of its 196 member states maintain a National Central Bureau, a designated liaison office connecting domestic police agencies to Interpol's international network. The organization is best known publicly for its color-coded notice system, particularly the Red Notice, which alerts member countries to individuals wanted for extradition, and its extensive databases covering stolen passports, fingerprints, DNA profiles, and stolen artworks. Crucially, Interpol itself has no independent power of arrest; it functions purely as a facilitator, providing intelligence and coordination while leaving enforcement action to national authorities operating under their own laws. This structure has allowed Interpol to maintain broad international participation while respecting national sovereignty, cementing its role as an indispensable hub for global policing efforts a century after its founding in Vienna.