NCJ Number
165225
Journal
FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin Volume: 66 Issue: 2 Dated: (February 1997) Pages: 8-11
Date Published
1997
Length
4 pages
Annotation
This article describes a Wisconsin training program designed to help law enforcement officers and alcohol beverage retailers spot fake, altered, or borrowed ID's.
Abstract
The section agents who developed the program researched the methods used to manufacture ID forgeries by obtaining information and false ID cards confiscated by university police departments and bar and liquor store owners located near college campuses, and in some cases, from the experts themselves, the counterfeiters. During the intelligence-gathering phase, it became clear that the cards generally fall into three categories: fake, altered, and borrowed. This article first describes each of these types of fraudulent ID's. After gathering a representative sample of fake, altered, and borrowed cards, agents photographed the cards and made them into slides, accentuating the points officers and retailers should examine in determining their validity. During the 4-hour training session developed, students view the slide presentation while listening to a lecture that includes a review of the laws governing the manufacture and use of false ID's. Students also receive a close-up, hands-on look at the cards found in the slides. Next, the instructor passes out 25 cards, and the students must determine which cards are bad and why. An instructional text accompanies the visual aids. Because Wisconsin law usually imposes civil penalties on youths who make or carry false ID's, no statewide statistics exist to measure the full impact of the training program. Still, the class provides students with the ability to detect false ID's, a skill that officers can use in any situation where a subject presents identification; moreover, the training has created a greater awareness in law enforcement, the beverage industry, and the community at large.