It is easy for most of us to go through life without thinking too much about international
\ncrime fighting \u2013 unless, of course, we are catching up on world news or watching the
\nlatest action flick. But for Michael Hughes \u201990, transnational criminal intelligence is all in
\na day\u2019s work.<\/p>\n
Hughes is director of INTERPOL Washington, the U.S. National Central Bureau
\n(USNCB), which is a component of the U.S. Department of Justice. The U.S. is one of
\n195-member countries in the international INTERPOL organization, which is based in
\nLyon, France. He will try to tell you that his career isn\u2019t what it might seem from the
\nmovies, before noting that he helps to coordinate criminal intelligence among
\nINTERPOL\u2019s 195 countries, sometimes traveling worldwide. And he has Top
\nSecret\/Sensitive Compartmented Information (TS\/SCI) clearance.<\/p>\n
\u201cINTERPOL, the organization, does not have any official policing powers. Its
\ninvestigative authority is derived from its 195 member country National Central Bureaus
\nand law enforcement agencies. The USNCB is responsible for coordinating criminal
\ninformation exchange between our more than 18,000 domestic U.S. law enforcement
\nagencies and our international counterparts around the globe,\u201d he explains, noting that
\nthe organization was officially established in 1923. \u201cWe are a communication platform
\nfor criminal investigative information for all transnational crimes including human
\ntrafficking, cybercrime, terrorism and art theft, as well as for humanitarian efforts. We
\nenable countries to work together to keep the world safe.\u201d<\/p>\n
From Hughes\u2019 perspective, his work is as much about diplomacy as it is about law
\nenforcement. \u201cIt is crucial that we take the time to research other cultures and to
\nunderstand their priorities,\u201d he says. \u201cWe need to be on top of developments
\neverywhere, and to be sensitive to history as well as to how societies are changing over
\ntime.\u201d<\/p>\n
International diplomacy was not top of mind for Hughes when he was preparing for
\ncollege, however. \u201cI played football for Wallington High School and wanted to continue
\nplaying,\u201d he says. \u201cMontclair offered me a spot on their junior varsity team. I also liked
\nthe fact that I could commute to campus. It was the right fit for me.\u201d<\/p>\n
He enjoyed his time as part of the Montclair football team, but stepped away from the
\nprogram to work full-time at a local pharmacy while completing his degree in Political
\nScience with a minor in Criminal Justice, a nod to his grandfather\u2019s career in law
\nenforcement.<\/p>\n
Hughes sat for the LSATs with the idea that he would go to law school but at the last
\nminute he pivoted, submitting applications to the New Jersey State Police and the U.S.
\nMarshals Service. He chose the federal program. \u201cI felt I needed a more wide-ranging
\nscope of possibilities and the Marshals offered that,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
Early assignments involved working with the FBI on a violent crimes task force in the
\nDistrict of New Jersey and also as an Inspector in the Witness Security Program. He
\nalso received a fellowship through Georgetown University and served for a couple of
\nyears as a legislative fellow in the United States Senate, working for New Jersey
\nSenator Frank Lautenberg. When he returned to the Marshals, he climbed the agency\u2019s
\nladder quickly. By 2011, he was appointed United States Marshal by the President of
\nthe United States, with the consent of the U.S. Senate.<\/p>\n
He joined INTERPOL Washington in 2018, and in 2021 was named the agency\u2019s
\ndirector. That year, he was elected by INTERPOL\u2019s 195-member-country General
\nAssembly to serve on the organization\u2019s 13-member executive committee.
\n\u201cAs a delegate for the Americas to the Committee, I work to ensure that every member
\ncountry\u2019s voice is being heard,\u201d he says. \u201cDiplomacy and appreciation for diversity are
\nessential.\u201d<\/p>\n
The complex interactions of 195 unique countries often have Hughes thinking back to
\nhis college days. \u201cMontclair provided my first experiences with a diverse community,
\nand with diversity of thought,\u201d he says. \u201cI formed relationships with classmates from
\ndifferent backgrounds, and my professors challenged me to think in different ways. I
\ndeveloped my ability to consider new ideas and perspectives.\u201d<\/p>\n
He points to an elective karate class as one example. \u201cI took the class to stay active
\nafter leaving the football team,\u201d he recalls. \u201cIt opened up a world for me, teaching
\ndiscipline and helping me to become pragmatic in my thought processes. I continued
\nstudying and practicing karate for decades, and even competed in the sport.\u201d
\nHughes focuses on discipline and pragmatism when discussing his career, but his
\nvolunteer activity reveals a deeply held passion for fighting crime. His memberships
\ninclude the National Advisory Board of the National Center for Spectator Sports Safety and Security, the INTERPOL Advisory Group on Financial Matters, ASIS International,<\/p>\n
the District of Columbia Law Enforcement Executive Task Force, the National Sheriff\u2019s
\nAssociation, the International Association of Chiefs of Police, the International Liaison
\nOfficers Association, the Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association, and the
\nFraternal Order of Police.<\/p>\n
Despite his international stature and his job\u2019s globe-circling requirements, Hughes
\nkeeps up with Montclair news. \u201cReading about Montclair makes me smile,\u201d he says. \u201cI
\nam aware of all of the new construction and programs, and I enjoy learning about the
\npriorities of the new president.\u201d<\/p>\n
He encourages today\u2019s students with a positive and pragmatic perspective: \u201cThe world
\nis always full of change. Change is inevitable, and it is something we all have to deal
\nwith, so do so in a positive way. Remember that one person can make a difference, so
\ngo for it!\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Michael Hughes \u201990, director of INTERPOL Washington, circles the globe, helping to ensure that 195 unique countries coordinate their resources to fight transnational crime and to implement crucial humanitarian efforts. As head of the United States National Central Bureau and a member of INTERPOL\u2019s 13-member executive committee, he is helping to bring together diverse voices with the shared goal of making the world safe for all.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":326,"featured_media":211746,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-211745","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-76_alumni-news-and-events","category-77_alumni-spotlight"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/211745","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/326"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=211745"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/211745\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":211749,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/211745\/revisions\/211749"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/211746"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=211745"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=211745"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=211745"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}