Implemented by France through the Ministry of the Interior's international cooperation operator Civipol, the European PROMETHEUS project entered the 2nd phase of its implementation on December 1, 2022, with the support of Spain, Italy and Latvia. Financed for a 30-month period by the European Union via the Migration Partnership Facility (MPF) of the International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD), PROMETHEUS II's overall objective is to support the Georgian authorities in charge of border management and the fight against organized criminal networks involved in migrant smuggling and human trafficking.
Within this framework, the Tbilisi-based project team worked with Georgian authorities from the Ministry of Internal Affairs to define a program including border management and, more specifically, the fight against document fraud.
After defining a common curriculum, experts from the partner countries (France, Spain and Latvia) conducted dedicated intermediate-level training courses in Tbilisi, Kutaisi and Sarpi to develop the detection capabilities of Patrol police officers, in charge of document control in Georgia. Based on techniques allowing interaction and appropriation by the trainees, these training courses were a great success.
Some 50 officers took part in the courses, which combined theory and practice, detection of imposters (profiling, morphing) and presentation of the new modus operandi used by criminal networks.
A training session dedicated to specialists is scheduled for October 2023. It will be led by a French-Spanish team, and should help increase the Georgian police's ability to respond to the scourge of document fraud.
"This document has been produced with the financial assistance of the European Union, contracted by ICMPD through the Migration Partnership Facility. The contents of this document are the sole responsibility of Civipol and can under no circumstances be regarded as reflecting the position of the European Union and the one of ICMPD".
