Advanced facial comparisons for stopping impostors in focus at OSCE training course for Ukrainian Border Guards

Facial comparison techniques at border crossings were the focus of a two-day online training course for the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine organized by the OSCE Transnational Threats Department, in co-operation with the Royal Netherlands Marechaussee — Identity Fraud and Documents Centre of Expertise (ECID) from 23 to 24 July.

The over 100 border guards were trained by OSCE and Dutch experts on manual facial comparison techniques, which are still the most widely used methods for verifying the identities of individuals at crossing borders. They also discussed the challenges in verifying identities as impostors increasingly use genuine documents and advanced fraud techniques such as facial morphing, a tactic where passport photos are created to resemble multiple individuals, enabling more than one person to use the same document.

The training included a session on the Analysis, Comparison, Evaluation, and Verification method (ACE-V), which is a structured forensic approach for examining and comparing facial imagery recommended by the European Network of Forensic Science Institutes (ENFSI) in its Best Practice Manual for Facial Image Comparison.

The ACE-V method helps ensure facial comparisons are consistent, repeatable, and scientifically grounded. This includes techniques like dividing the face into specific quadrants and focusing on structures of the face that change less with age or weight fluctuations.

The participants also explored recent research by the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) on how trained human experts, when paired with computer systems, outperform both unaided individuals and top-performing algorithms in facial recognition tasks. This helped to demonstrate the value of blending human judgment with digital tools, such as biometrics and facial recognition, for enhanced border security.

The training course was part of an ongoing extrabudgetary project supporting the OSCE participating States and Partners for Co-operation in reducing illegal border crossings by using a fake or stolen identity. This project is funded by the United States.