The International Criminal Police Organization（Interpol）was established in 1923. The Headquarters of Interpol was located in Vienna and comprised of the General Assembly, the Executive Committee, the General Secretariat, the National Central Bureaus, and the Advisers. In October 1989, Interpol moved its General Secretariat to Lyon, France. Nowadays the number of Member States has already reached 190.

　As stated in the Constitution of the International Criminal Police Organization, the aims of Interpol are:

• a) To ensure and promote the widest possible mutual assistance between all criminal police authorities within the limits of the laws existing in the different countries and in the spirit of the "Universal Declaration of Human Rights".
• b) To establish and develop institutions likely to contribute to the effective prevention and suppression of crime.

Interpol's activities are all based on the following four core functions:

Secure global police communication services

Interpol runs a global police communications system called I-24/7, which provides police around the world with a common platform through which they can share crucial information about criminals and criminality.

Operational data services and databases for police

INTERPOL’s databases and services ensure that police worldwide have access to the information and services they need to prevent and investigate crimes. Databases include data on criminals such as names, fingerprints and DNA profiles, and stolen property such as passports, vehicles and works of art.

Operational police support services

INTERPOL supports law enforcement officials in the field with emergency support and operational activities, especially in its priority crime areas of fugitives, public safety and terrorism, drugs and organized crime, trafficking in human beings and financial and high-tech crime. A Command and Co-ordination Centre operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Police training and development

INTERPOL provides focused police training initiatives for national police forces, and also offers on-demand advice, guidance and support in building dedicated crime-fighting components. The aim is to enhance the capacity of member countries to effectively combat serious trans-national crime and terrorism.

This includes sharing knowledge, skills and best practices in policing through INTERPOL channels and the establishment of global standards on how to combat specific forms of crimes.