INTERPOL WAPIS/AFIS Team Engages Sierra Leone Police, EU Delegation to Strengthen Regional Security Cooperation
A Technical team from the INTERPOL WAPIS/AFIS Programme visited Sierra Leone last week as part of ongoing efforts to strengthen law enforcement cooperation and enhance the country’s capacity to combat transnational organized crime.
During the visit, the delegation held strategic engagements with the Sierra Leone Police (SLP) and the European Union Delegation to Sierra Leone (EUDEL), focusing on the implementation and advancement of the WAPIS/AFIS initiative and its role in improving regional security.
The WAPIS/AFIS Programme is a joint security initiative implemented by INTERPOL with the support of the European Union. It is designed to integrate the Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS) into national and regional police information systems across West Africa, enabling law enforcement agencies to securely collect, store, and share biometric and criminal data.
The initiative strengthens the ability of participating countries to identify suspects, track criminal activities across borders, and improve investigations into transnational crimes such as terrorism, human trafficking, drug trafficking, cybercrime, arms smuggling, and other forms of organized crime.
Discussions between the INTERPOL delegation, the Sierra Leone Police, and the European Union Delegation centered on enhancing operational cooperation, improving information sharing, and ensuring the effective deployment of biometric technologies within Sierra Leone’s law enforcement framework.
The visit also reaffirmed the European Union’s continued support for strengthening security institutions in Sierra Leone and the wider West African region through modern policing tools, capacity building, and intelligence-led law enforcement.
By leveraging advanced biometric technology and integrated police information systems, the WAPIS/AFIS Programme is expected to significantly improve criminal identification, facilitate cross-border investigations, and reinforce regional collaboration in addressing evolving security threats.
The engagement marks another important step in Sierra Leone’s commitment to modernizing its policing capabilities and contributing to a more coordinated regional response against transnational crime.
