Report: Countries Neglect Passport Theft

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Countries do not report stolen or lost passports to Interpol * “This is a threat to civilian aviation security”, according to U.S. DHS experts.

Many countries around the world do no report stolen or lost passports to Interpol, a practice which harms civilian aviation security – this according to Department of Homeland Security representatives at a congressional committee hearing.

It turns out that a “worrying” number of countries, including some of the most populated such as China, India and Indonesia, neglect reporting stolen passports to the Interpol’s SLTD database, devoted to collecting information on lost or stolen passports and travel documents.

The Interpol database was established following 9/11, according to Assistant Secretary Alan Bersin of the DHS in his testimony before the House Committee on Homeland Security Subcommittee on Border and Maritime Security. Over the last 12 years more than 40 million records involving passports have been added to the database.

Interpol’s Washington branch director, Shawn Bray, told Congress that on March 9 Interpol verified that two of the passports carried by passengers on the vanished Malaysian Airlines flight MH370 were found to be in the Interpol database. The passports belonged to Austrian and Italian nationals, and the question remains whether their holders were, in fact, terrorists.

iHLS – Israel Homeland Security

According to recent regulations published by the DHS passengers who carry passports that have been reported to Interpol will not be allowed to enter or leave the U.S. by air until they prove their identity.

Beginning 2013 more than a billion passengers boarded flights around the world with authorities unable to compare their passport numbers to Interpol records, a result of not reporting stolen or lost passports. According to the DHS countries who do not allow their immigration and law-enforcement agencies quick access to Interpol databases risk the lives of their citizens who use global commercial aviation. According to DHS data very few countries actually use the Interpol databases to thoroughly check passengers, which leads to a major aviation security gap and exposure to criminals and terrorists.

DHS representatives told the committee that, based on their professional experience, comparing passenger passports to Interpol records is critical for maintaining aviation security since 9/11. This database, according to the DHS and Interpol representatives, forms an extremely important basis for international cooperation against crime and terror. Correct use of the records allows authorities to immediately verify travel documents and passports, thus assuring flight safety.

Source: Homeland Security Today