OSCE training course in Prishtinë/Priština focuses on detecting forged travel documents

Increasing operational awareness to detect forged documents and imposters is the aim of a three-day advanced training course for specialized police officers organized by the OSCE Secretariat’s Transnational Threats Department with support from the OSCE Mission in Kosovo, which started in Prishtinë/Priština on 8 August 2017.

Building on the participating officers’ existing skills, the training course provides in-depth knowledge about the manufacturing process and security features of travel documents as well as the latest trends in counterfeiting methods and means of identifying them.

During a series of practical exercises, the participants examine the security features of passports, visas, plastic cards and banknotes common in the region and practice identifying facial and behavioural indicators for imposters.

“Our goal is to reduce opportunities for criminals and terrorists to travel across the OSCE area. This can be achieved by increasing the capacity to detect fraudulent documents and to identify imposters,” said Simon Deignan of the OSCE Transnational Threats Department.

The training course is financially supported by the Government of Canada.

Since 2007, more than 40 similar courses have been organized across the OSCE area by the Transnational Threats Department’s Travel Document Security Programme, in co-operation with document experts from the Austrian Interior Ministry.