Border guards in Ukraine work with OSCE to become trainers in document fraud detection at border crossing points

Border guards from Ukraine built their skills for training border guards on document fraud detection during a ‘train-the-trainers’ course organized by the OSCE Transnational Threats Department, in co-operation with the Main Forensic Center of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine, from 4 to 8 August in Lviv.

Ten participants worked with two experts from the SBGS Main Forensic Center to learn the ins and outs of effective teaching and training methodologies for document security and fraud detection. They covered how to use the basic training curriculum, as well as built on the participants’ experience from their previous OSCE training course in March 2025 on basic and advanced document fraud detection techniques.

Ukraine’s border guards are currently responsible for conducting document checks at over 100 border crossing points at Ukraine’s southern and western borders. In 2023 alone, border guards intercepted nearly 3,300 forged documents at these checkpoints, underscoring the persistent and evolving threat of document fraud. As document forgery techniques become more advanced, Ukraine urgently needs a growing network of qualified trainers to provide regular, localized training to its border personnel.

The two SBGS experts were graduates of an OSCE-led ‘train-the-trainers’ course held in August 2024.

They used those skills to help develop the next generation of trainers in document security for the State Border Guard Service, which is building a network of qualified trainers and well-trained border personnel to stay ahead of security issues like cross-border crime, smuggling and human trafficking.

Travel document security specialist from the United Kingdom, Stephan Chapman, also shared insights with the participants from his experience representing the UK and HM Passport Office, engaging with the global diplomatic and secure document community, and assessing travel document issuance systems for the British government. He emphasized that securing the document creation process and maintaining tight control over document issuance are essential to reducing fraud.

Six of the participants who complete this training course will also take part in a pilot initiative from 11 to 12 August where the newly trained trainers get to apply what they have learned and train their peers in a real-life setting at a border crossing. They will work with the support and mentorship of OSCE experts to develop and deliver the training.

These training efforts are 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.