Among INTERPOL’s colour-coded notices, the Blue Notice has traditionally remained overshadowed by the better-known Red Notice. However, recent statistics show that the Blue Notice is rapidly becoming one of the fastest-expanding tools in international police cooperation. From 2014 to 2024, Blue Notices issued nearly doubled, from 2,167 to 4,078. This sharp rise signals a significant evolution in global policing: a shift from reactive, enforcement-driven mechanisms to proactive, intelligence-led information sharing across borders.

What a Blue Notice Does

Under Article 88 of INTERPOL’s Rules on the Processing of Data (RPD), Blue Notices may be published to obtain information about a person of interest, locate that person, or identify them when their identity is uncertain.

Crucially, Blue Notices can concern not only a suspect or convicted person, but also a witness or victim. This broad scope differentiates them fundamentally from Red Notices, which are strictly limited to persons sought for arrest or extradition.

For a Blue Notice to be lawfully issued, three cumulative criteria must be met: (a) the person must be connected to a criminal investigation (as suspect, witness, victim, or convict); (b) the requesting authority must seek specific information about the person’s identity, location, or criminal background; and (c) sufficient contextual data must be provided to make cooperation compelling and legitimate.

The Silent Misuse of Blue Notices

Although the Blue Notice was never designed as a coercive instrument, its rapid expansion invites serious scrutiny. In practice, some states appear to have repurposed it as a quasi-surveillance mechanism, exploiting its lower evidentiary and procedural thresholds. The boundary between information exchange and coercive intelligence operations is blurred.

Reports have surfaced of Blue Notices being used to track political dissidents, journalists, and human rights defenders under the guise of “information gathering.” Unlike Red Notices, which often attract public and legal scrutiny, Blue Notices operate below the visibility threshold – very few individuals even realise they are the subject of one.

While not designed to justify arrest, a Blue Notice can still lead to stop and questioning, or even be elevated to a Red Notice as investigations progress. Yet, importantly, Blue Notices are not beyond scrutiny. They can be traced through an Access Request and challenged before the Commission for the Control of INTERPOL’s Files if they fail to meet the requirements of Article 88 RPD.