On Tuesday, 13 May, the High Level Strategic Meeting of the “IDENTITY Project” was held at the Scuola di Perfezionamento per le Forze di Polizia.
The Project is financed by the Department of Public Security, Central Directorate of Criminal Police, and is developed with the collaboration of INTERPOL. It is based on the strategic priority of ensuring the detection of criminals and terrorists who take advantage of migration flows and enter Europe, thus escaping the identification systems during the control procedures implemented in the so-called “hot spots”.
The project’s three partner countries are Ivory Coast, Gambia, and Senegal.
The meeting was opened by the Deputy Director of Public Security, Central Director of Criminal Police, Prefect Grassi, in the presence of the Deputy Director General of the Gambian Police Mr Sowe, the Director of the Senegalese Judicial Police Mr Niang, the Deputy Director General of the Ivory Coast Police Mr Namory Timité, and the Director pro tempore of the Operational Support and Analysis Directorate of INTERPOL Mr Hippert.
The meeting was organised to launch the operational phase of the “IDENTITY Project”, following the approval of the national operational plans by the respective Chiefs of Police and the Project Steering Committee.
In his speech, the Prefect Grassi emphasised that we must work together to “improve procedures for getting and sharing biometric data, make the interconnection with the INTERPOL system more effective, and build an increasingly robust and timely police cooperation network. Exchanging information on dangerous subjects is vital. Having more data means being able to act faster, with greater precision. And today, more than ever, biometrics are the safest tool to identify a person, even when they are not carrying documents or trying to hide their identity.”
