The Spanish National Police shares its knowledge on border management with Paraguay

Specialists from the Spanish National Police have given training to professionals from the Paraguayan National Directorate of Migration on how to improve their skills in carrying out first and second line interviews at border posts in their country, in an action developed within the framework of the European EUROFRONT programme.

The verification of a person’s eligibility to enter a country contributes to the prevention of cross-border and related crimes. The methodology of first and second line interviewing, a secure method of border management, has become increasingly sophisticated through good practice and the experience of law enforcement officers. The EUROFRONT programme, funded by the European Union and co-led by FIIAPP, aims to strengthen the capacities of professionals involved in border management in seven Latin American countries.

Due to the increasing complexity of movements of people, officials must be adequately trained to ensure that the treatment of travellers is consistent with respect for human rights. In addition, to ensure the success of these operations, staff must be familiar with a range of skills such as profiling of potential victims or criminals, identification of vulnerable persons, detection of false documents and knowledge of the modus operandi of criminal organisations operating at the border.

Training for more secure borders

“All of this helps the staff at border posts to integrate a specific action protocol and thus contribute to the main objective: to make borders safer for everyone,” explains the expert responsible for EUROFRONT Pillars 2 and 3, Víctor Alfredo Suárez.

The training in Paraguay is part of a series of training sessions on these aspects that have been held in Colombia and Paraguay over the last year. It is the third training of this exercise and has trained 100 specialists who now have the necessary knowledge to train other corps members.