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A Red Notice Law Journal reader recently asked a common question arises when one’s life is touched by INTERPOL.  The question:

How can you check whether you have a red notice in your name? I checked the Interpol site but I feel information is not accurate or updated. Please advise.

• The answer is, of course, it depends. A small percentage of INTERPOL’s Red Notices are actually published on INTERPOL’s website.  The reason for this is that many of INTERPOL’s member countries choose not to publish the majority of their Red notices.  Bear in mind that the member countries own the information, and INTERPOL is the temporary keeper of the information for purpose of providing assistance to law enforcement officials who are looking for the subject.
• While some Red Notice subjects will find themselves on the website, the majority do not. They learn of to the Red Notice when they travel or attempt to travel, apply for immigration benefits, or receive a notice of account closure from their financial institutions.
• The reason for the non-publication of most notices is that a wanted person is less likely to travel if he is aware of a Red Notice, so the person is more difficult to apprehend. When a Red Notice subject travels, it’s more likely that identification checks at ports of entry to member countries will result in a “hit” in INTERPOL’s databases, thereby alerting authorities to his presence and providing the opportunity for detention.

And that’s why Interpol doesn’t list all the RN subjects on its website.