Officers Train to Detect Fake Travel Documents and False Identities

Twenty-five officers are undergoing training in Belmopan to better detect fraudulent travel documents and people using false identities. The three-day workshop began yesterday and continues through tomorrow, bringing together Immigration, Nationality and Passport, Customs and Police personnel whose duties include checking travel and identity documents.  The training is being delivered by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the U.S. Embassy in Belmopan, with European Union funding through the Regional Integration and Border Management Project.  A special agent and overseas criminal investigator with the U.S. Diplomatic Security Service is facilitating the sessions. Officers are learning to spot alterations, counterfeit documents and forgeries, identify impostors, and use examination equipment such as ultraviolet lights and magnifiers.  Participants include personnel from the Department of Border Management and Immigration Services and the Department of Nationality and Passport, both under the Ministry of Immigration, Governance and Labour.  According to IOM, the practical instruction is intended to strengthen document checks and fraud detection during frontline operations, particularly at border control points.