OSCE Trains Next-Gen Travel Document Experts in Tirana

From 3 to 7 June 2024, the OSCE Transnational Threats Department (TNTD) in close co-operation with the OSCE Presence in Albania, organized a training of trainers course on identifying forged documents and impostors at border crossing points in Tirana, Albania. The course brought together five officers, two women and three men, from the Albanian State Police and the Albanian Border Police.

The hands-on training was delivered by two experts from Italy’s Polizia di Frontiera, who currently serve as document experts at Milan’s Malpensa Airport. The five training participants previously completed OSCE-led training courses on the detection of forged documents and impostors in 2021.

Participants refreshed their knowledge of different types of documents, personalization and security techniques, and international standards involved in developing travel documents. They strengthened their technical expertise and practical skills in detecting counterfeit documents through hands-on exercises with real and forged travel and identification documents. They gained valuable experience in drafting alerts to notify fellow border officers of fraudulent documents detected at border crossing points.

With support from the expert trainers, participants spent a full day articulating the role of a trainer and developing training agendas to ensure these newly trained trainers are now equipped to conduct basic document trainings for their fellow border officers in Albania.

“The OSCE Presence in Albania is pleased to once again support the OSCE Border Security and Management Unit in organizing the third and final training course on forged travel documents,” said Darko Angelov. “Training trainers from the ranks of Albanian Border Police professionals is the ultimate approach to ensuring sustainability and national ownership in the provision of always needed continuous, on the job training on the ever-evolving trends in travel documents forgery. For Albania, with its bustling travel sector, being a rapidly developing tourist destination, as well as a travel transit route, adding up to being an often-used transit route for illegal migration, makes this highly specialized training much needed.”

This training cycle will conclude with a study visit to Milan Malpensa Airport in November 2024 to disseminate good practices and enhance knowledge of new technologies in detecting forged documents and impostors at border crossing points.

This project is focused on supporting OSCE participating States and Partners for Co-operation in their efforts to reduce the number of people that manage to illegally cross borders using a fake or stolen identity or by posing as an impostor.

This project and its training activities are made possible through the generous financial support of the U.S. Mission to the OSCE.