RIYADH: Saudi Arabia has donated $1.12 million toward a tech-driven Interpol crime-fighting initiative. The intergovernmental policing organization’s capabilities for operational relevance program (I-CORE) aims to use digital advances to help with security checks at border crossings around the world. The contribution agreement was signed by the director general of Saudi Interpol, Col. Abdulmalik Al-Sogiah, representing the Ministry of Interior, at Interpol headquarters in Lyon, France. The money, to help fund the program over the next three years, is part of the Kingdom’s efforts to tackle crime while increasing Interpol’s ability to combat organized and international criminal networks. Al-Sogiah said: “Interpol is dedicated to combating transnational crime in all its manifestations and has a positive impact on police operations worldwide. “Consequently, Saudi Arabia actively supports the I-CORE program, which focuses on staying up to date with digital transformation and leveraging artificial intelligence.” One project, known as smart case messaging, involves a web-based platform that applies AI to make police messaging more effective, and improve the quality and quantity of information gathering. In a statement, Interpol said: “Police around the world are confronted with complex crimes that cross national borders, time zones, languages, and jurisdictions.” It added that to “turn this data tsunami into a valuable source of actionable intelligence,” the I-CORE program would focus on three technological projects to “ensure police data can be accessed faster and smarter.” These would include biometrics for frontline policing, smart case messaging, and unified information architecture, the statement said.