Contemporary terrorism.

Terrorism is a term used to describe violence for political, religious or other ideological goals.

Terrorism is the sustained, clandestine use of violence to achieve a political purpose.

Types of contemporary terrorism are as follows: State, Religious, Nationalist, Racist, Narcoterrorism, Eco-terrorism, etc.

There are different causes of terrorism: unresolved political conflicts, sociological factors (poverty, discontent with society or own community, upbringing), and psychological factors (antisocial personality disorder, religious problems, etc).

Features and tactics of modern terrorism have some specific characteristics. One important feature of modern terrorism is its quest for spectacular horror effects in order to attract mass media (for example, New York City’s World Trade Center as a target of a terrorist bomb).

Another feature of modern terrorism is its international character. That means the ability of terrorists to slip across national borders.

Among crimes committing by terrorists are: hijacking, assassination, car bombing, suicide bombing, kidnapping, bioterrorism, cyber-terrorism, nuclear terrorism, etc.

There are three categories of terrorist crime not in legal terms, but by intention.

First of all, it is the use of violence and the threat of violence to create public fear (random attacks, to injure or kill people and assassination of heads of state and members of governments).

The second category of terrorist crime is actual rule by terror when leaders of terrorist organizations terrorize their own members.

Thirdly, crimes are committed by terrorist organizations in order to gain the means for their own support. For example, kidnapping for ransom, extortion, illegal arms dealing, and drug trafficking.

Responses to terrorism are broad in scope.

Prevention of international terrorism is a matter of the international community as a whole.

International efforts to combat terrorism have led to the some international conventions: the Tokyo and Montreal Convention on hijacking and sabotage of civilian aircraft; the Hague Convention on hostage taking; the Convention on crimes against diplomats.

Not long ago the United Nations adopted the Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy. It’s purpose is to enhance national, regional and international efforts to counter terrorism.

Interpol.

Interpol is the world’s largest international police organization with 181 member countries. It was established in 1923 to promote cross-border police cooperation.

Interpol’s mission is to help police organization around the world to work together to combat crime. Interpol does not have power to arrest or investigate crimes. Its function is to disseminate information. It receives, stores, analyzes and circulates criminal data in cooperation with its member countries around the clock in its four official languages (Arabic, English, French, Spanish).

Interpol’s principal target is the international criminal. There are three main categories of criminals: those who operate in more than one country, such as smugglers, dealing meanly in gold and narcotics; criminals who do not travel but whose crime affect other countries – for example, counterfeiters of foreign bank notes; and criminals who commit a crime in one country and flee to another. The organization is among the first to fight international terrorism and hijacking.

Interpol is not under the control or supervision of any government. Its three main bodies are the General Assembly, the Executive Committee and the General Secretariat.

The General Assembly is Interpol’s supreme governing body. It is composed of delegates from each member country who meet once a year and take all the major decisions. Each member country has one vote.

The Executive Committee supervises the execution of the decisions of the General Assembly. It has thirteen members made up of the President, three Vice-President and nine delegates. It meets three times a year.

The General Secretariat is Interpol’s business division. It contains the permanent departments which specialize in certain crimes: one handles murder, burglary, assault, larceny, car theft, and missing person; another deals with bank frauds and another types of embezzlement; a third – with drug traffic; and fourth – with forgery and counterfeiting. It is located in Lyon, France.

Interpol’s structure also includes National Central Bureaus and Advisers. The NCB is the operation and contact point of Interpol. It assists with the location and arrest of fugitives.

Interpol is one of the highly respected groups in the world. It operates according to a strict code of behavior and adheres to the highest ethical standards.