An Interpol notice or international notice is issued by Interpol

Interpol

Interpol, whose full name is the International Criminal Police Organization – INTERPOL, is an organization facilitating international police cooperation...

 to share information between its members. There are seven types, six of which are known by their colour codes: Red, Blue, Green, Yellow, Black, Orange.

INTERPOL will only issue notices "if it is satisfied that all the conditions for processing the information have been fulfilled. For example, a notice will not be published if it violates Article 3 of the Constitution, which forbids the Organization from undertaking any intervention or activities of a political, military, religious or racial character."

Notices are issued in the official languages of Interpol: English

English language

English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...

, French

French language

French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...

, Spanish

Spanish language

Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...

 and Arabic

Arabic language

Arabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...

.

Notice types

Red notice

Requests (provisional) arrest

Arrest

An arrest is the act of depriving a person of his or her liberty usually in relation to the purported investigation and prevention of crime and presenting into the criminal justice system or harm to oneself or others...

 of wanted persons, with a view to extradition

Extradition

Extradition is the official process whereby one nation or state surrenders a suspected or convicted criminal to another nation or state. Between nation states, extradition is regulated by treaties...

. An Interpol Red Notice is "the closest instrument to an international arrest warrant

Arrest warrant

An arrest warrant is a warrant issued by and on behalf of the state, which authorizes the arrest and detention of an individual.-Canada:Arrest warrants are issued by a judge or justice of the peace under the Criminal Code of Canada....

 in use today." (Interpol does not have the authority to issue arrest warrants in the formal sense of the word, as this is the domain of the sovereign member states.)

Yellow notice

Asks for help locating missing person

Missing person

A missing person is a person who has disappeared for usually unknown reasons.Missing persons' photographs may be posted on bulletin boards, milk cartons, postcards, and websites, along with a phone number to be contacted if a sighting has been made....

s (usually minors) or identifying people who are unable to identify themselves.

Blue notice

Requests additional information about a person in relation to a crime

Black notice

Seeks information on unidentified bodies.

Green notice

To provide warnings and criminal intelligence about persons who have committed criminal offences and are likely to repeat these crimes in other countries

Orange notice

Warns police and other international organizations about potential threats from disguised weapons, parcel bombs, or other dangerous materials.

Purple notice

To provide information on modi operandi, procedures, objects, devices and hiding places used by criminals.

Interpol-United Nations Security Council Special Notice

Issued for groups and individuals who are targets of UN sanctions against Al Qaeda and the Taliban. This was created in 2005 at the request of the UN Security Council

United Nations Security Council

The United Nations Security Council is one of the principal organs of the United Nations and is charged with the maintenance of international peace and security. Its powers, outlined in the United Nations Charter, include the establishment of peacekeeping operations, the establishment of...

 through the adoption of resolution 1617

United Nations Security Council Resolution 1617

United Nations Security Council Resolution 1617, adopted unanimously on July 29, 2005, after recalling resolutions 1267 , 1333 , 1363 , 1373 , 1390 , 1452 , 1455 , 1526 and 1566 concerning terrorism, the Council renewed sanctions against Al-Qaeda, the Taliban, Osama bin Laden and associated...

and implemented through the adoption of INTERPOL resolution AG-2005-RES-05.

2009

In 2009, a total of 7,290 notices were issued.

Interpol notices issued in 2009

Red	Blue	Green	Yellow	Black	Orange	Interpol-UN
5020	522	1139	472	103	17	17