Law enforcement contacts

The emergency line can be reached at any time by authorised officers. It is staffed by analysts from the BIOP unit, who can consult the database, identify a match, refer to an expert or alert a foreign colleague. A call-back is guaranteed in under thirty minutes.

During the day, the BIOP unit also handles routine requests by secure messaging: checking a record, requesting further information, reporting a match. Replies are given within twenty-four hours.

Each Member State has a national focal point, which centralises relations with OIMAP, authorises officers and coordinates operations. INTERPOL liaison officers facilitate exchanges with foreign police forces. Accredited experts are available for rapid appraisals.

OIMAP keeps up to date a secure directory, accessible to authorised officers. Public contact details appear in each Member State's record.

Contacts must be used for their purposes: an emergency call must not be used for an administrative question. Sensitive exchanges go through encrypted channels; no investigation information circulates by ordinary email or consumer messaging.

Each contact is logged, to allow traceability. Officers who detect an anomaly — identity theft, unusual request — must report it immediately to the BIOP unit.

In many States, units specialising in cultural property have few officers, sometimes just one. To avoid isolation, OIMAP runs a mutual-aid network: secure forum, annual meetings, sponsorship between units.

This network makes it possible to share methods, ask questions and get in touch with a colleague who has already handled a similar case. It has more than four hundred members.