Interpol is a commonly used organization in Street Fighter. They are a convenient international law enforcement organization and make the perfect foil to Shadoloo, an international criminal syndicate. The fictional Interpol differs from it's real life counterpart in several ways, however. Ignoring these discrepancies, Interpol can be one of the most exciting aspects of any Street Fighter story.
Real Life
The real life Interpol was founded in 1928 and is headquarted in Lyon, France It serves as a clearinghouse for information, disseminating data on international criminals to its member states. Interpol has no arrest authority and does no investigation. Investigations and arrests are left to the pervue of the member state's police authority. Interpol simply acts as consultants in cases of international crime. Most of Interpol's activities concern organized crime, counterfeiting, vehicle theft, and smuggling; all of which are often international in nature. Realistically, Interpol is pretty boring. They can't arrest or investigate, so you're more likely to sit in an office and collate data or give a seminar as an Interpol agent than bust crooks or get in a car chase.Fiction
However, the world of Street Fighter knows no such limitations, and Interpol can easily be adapted to become an effective international crime-stopping force. To make Interpol fun and exciting in your Street Fighter story, several small changes have to be made.Arrest
Interpol in Street Fighter are a much more proactive and adventurous bunch. Though still lacking official arrest powers, or an issued firearm, they nonetheless are on the trail of criminals worldwide. Street Fighter Interpol agents work with local police authorities to make arrests and conduct investigations. Though still nominally prohibited from conducting investigations, this doesn't stop Interpol agents from doing all the investigative work then allowing the local authorities to make the bust and take all the credit. Additionally, even though prohibited from making arrests, this doesn't stop Interpol agents from apprehending a criminal and bringing them in to the local authorities who then make an "official" arrest. Further, despite not being issued an official Interpol firearm, this does not restrict the Interpol agent from using a personal firearm for protection persuant to local gun laws and regulations. In fact, the restriction on firearms is perfect for the recruitment of skilled Martial Artists and hand to hand combatants like Street Fighter characters.Equipment
Interpol agents in Street Fighter are also a much better equipped group than their real life counterparts. Street Fighter Interpol Agents are more like secret agents than police officers. Expect Interpol agents to have wrist communicators, GPS/Cellular tracking devices, hand-held computers, credit-card-sized photographic equipment, etc. Interpol is just as much an intelligence agency as the CIA or KGB. Their job is to gather intelligence on criminal organizations to use as evidence. Any high tech toy or gizmo that will help them in this pursuit will be used. Using spy-tech enhances the mystery and fun of an Interpol story, further elevating the fictional Interpol above their real life counterpart.Almost all Interpol equipment is small and easily concealable with the occasional vehicle or aircraft. When numbers of vehicles or aircraft are necessary, Interpol simply calls for assistance from the local authorities.
Likewise, Interpol bases may appear to be the boring information collation offices of their real life counterpart, but somewhere there will be a secret door to the underground base of operations with large computer displays, banks of whirring computers, and spy-tech testing laboratories. Entrance to these secret facilities may require special biometric scans such as X-Ray, retinas, fingerprints, voice-pattern recognition, etc., to gain entry.
In Street Fighter, Interpol is a well-funded agency with links to the United Nations (In real life, Interpol was granted Permanent Observer status to the U.N. General Assembly in 1996). Funding comes from its 177 member nations and is controlled by the Financial Controller section which reports to the General Assembly comprised of delegates from each member nation.
Cooperation
Most law-abiding governments will welcome Interpol's assistance, especially if they get the credit for the investigation and the arrest. In turn, they will provide assistance to the Interpol agent. Helicopter deployment or extraction, searches, communication, arrest raids, etc. So long as the request in in accordance with stopping criminal activity, most local nations are glad to assist. Conversely, if the local law enforcement authorities are left out of the loop, are circumvented, ignored, or disrespected, then local assistance will dry up and even resistance may develop. A few dots of Resources on a character sheet can be used to procure local government assistance.Simply roll a number of dice equal to their Backing dots. The number of successes indicate the quality and kind of assistance provided.Contacts
Interpol agents are also rare. What few Interpol agents there are are highly trained and represent the best agent the member nation has to offer. To this end, Interpol agents will often recruit outsiders to help. A network of friendlies is an important asset to any Interpol agent. For PC Interpol agents, a few dots in Contacts can represent knowing someone or having a friendly in whatever nation they go to. Simply roll a number of dice equal to their Contacts dots. The number of successed indicate the quality and kind of contacts available to the agent. When lacking, some judicious use of Streetwise can procure some local assistance, though their trustworthiness may be questionable. Non-Interpol PC's may find themselves the subjects of just such a search for aid. In which case, successfully helping Interpol investigate a case will often result in further requests in the future.Recruitment
To become an Interpol agent, one must be appointed by their government's Interpol liason. Interpol has no restriction on who can be an agent. One might find a Chinese village constable, or a U.S. Special Forces soldier, or a British M.I.6 Agent, or even someone with no offical police background whatsoever, all working side by side providing assistance to the F.B.I. in the apprehension of an international criminal. The Interpol liason reccomends a potential agent to Headquarters who then does a full background check on the potential recruit. Should the recuit pass the initial background check, the liason then approaches the potential agent and offers them a position in Interpol. If the recuit declines, the invitation remains open. Should the recuit accept, they are then sent to France for 3 months training and are instructed in the operations and activities of Interpol.The new agent retains their former position, whether that be Chinese village constable, U.S. Special Forces soldier, or British M.I.6 Agent, with their superiors and peers in full knowledge and acceptance of their new membership. When Interpol requires the agent's expertise, they are detached from their "day job" for the duration of their Interpol mission. This often results in late-night calls to duty or suddent trips around the world, but to Interpol agents, it's a small price to pay.
Though being an Interpol agent can be a thankless and obscure profession, the agent can take pride in their accomplishment, even though local authorities take credit for the work. Interpol agents are also paid well, compensation for sudden and often dangerous missions may result in several dots of Resources, which explains the hot cars and rich lifestyles some, but definitely not the majority of, Agents lead. But to an Interpol agent, the pay is secondary to the service they provide to the stability of the world.
Cliche's
In order to achieve the right effect for Interpol adventures in Street Fighter, several cliche'd elements must be included:
- The Top Secret underground base.
- The Chief of Operations with an eyepatch
- The sexy female British Agent in skin-tight outfit.
- The buff veteran German agent with unshaven face and cropped hair.
- The absent-minded technician in charge of spy-tech.
- The spy-tech car with oil-slick, smoke-screen, and land mines.
- Wrist cameras.
- Hand-held communicators.
For more information on the real life Interpol, check out their Web site at http://193.123.144.14/interpol-pr/.