OSCE trains Albanian border officers on detecting forged travel documents

A one-week advanced training course for 15 Albanian border officers from various regions of the country on increasing their operational awareness regarding the detection of forged travel documents was conducted in Tirana from 10 to 14 December 2018.  The training was organized by the Border Security and Management Unit of the OSCE Transnational Threats Department in co-operation with the OSCE Presence in Albania and the Security Academy of Albania. 

The training course provided the participants with up-to-date information on the latest trends in document fraud as well on the wide range of new security features available for travel documents.

During practical exercises participants learned how to use mobile document-checking devices and magnifiers to identify the main security features in passports, driving licences and foreign banknotes. The OSCE also handed over 15 high-quality magnifiers to each participant with the aim of supporting the technical capacities of Albanian law enforcement personnel.

The training curriculum was provided by the Austrian Interior Ministry, which has been adopted by the EU and its European Border and Coast Guard Agency (FRONTEX). Since 2007 the course has been implemented by the OSCE on a national basis primarily in non-EU countries, using trainers from the pool of document specialists of the Federal Ministry of the Interior of Austria.