The National Document Fraud Unit (NDFU) is a central unit within the

Home Office The Home Office (HO), also known (especially in official papers and when referred to in Parliament) as the Home Department, is the United Kingdom's interior ministry. It is responsible for public safety and policing, border security, immigr ...

, based from two offices, one in

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

and another office near

London Heathrow Airport Heathrow Airport , also colloquially known as London Heathrow Airport and named ''London Airport'' until 1966, is the primary and largest international airport serving London, the capital and most populous city of England and the United Kingd ...

. The NDFU is the UK's national centre for identifying travel and identity document fraud.

Overview

NDFU provides information on genuine, forged, counterfeit and fantasy documents to law enforcement agencies nationally and overseas, working with

Interpol The International Criminal Police Organization – INTERPOL (abbreviated as ICPO–INTERPOL), commonly known as Interpol ( , ; stylized in allcaps), is an international organization that facilitates worldwide police cooperation and crime cont ...

and the

International Civil Aviation Organization The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO ) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that coordinates the principles and techniques of international air navigation, and fosters the planning and development of international sch ...

to establish document standards. It also liaises with security document manufacturers and issuers to ensure that the UK remains a leader in the field of travel document security.

History

The NDFU has existed for over 35 years. In 2008, the work carried out by the NDFU resulted in 7800 fraudulent travel documents being identified by the

UK Border Agency The UK Border Agency (UKBA) was the border control agency of the Government of the United Kingdom and part of the Home Office that was superseded by UK Visas and Immigration, Border Force and Immigration Enforcement in April 2013. It was forme ...

Role

The NDFU's role is to: * Gather intelligence on travel and identity document fraud. * Provide specialist advice and forgery detection training to UK non-governmental and overseas partners. * Train staff from the Home Office,

UK Visas and Immigration UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) is a division of the Home Office responsible for the United Kingdom's visa system. It was formed in 2013 from the section of the UK Border Agency that had administered the visa system. History The then Home Secret ...

, and other government departments in identifying fraudulent travel and identity documents. * Provide expert document examiners to analyze suspect travel and identity documents and provide

expert witness An expert witness, particularly in common law countries such as the United Kingdom, Australia, and the United States, is a person whose opinion by virtue of education, training, certification, skills or experience, is accepted by the judge as ...

testimony to the

Courts of the United Kingdom A court is an institution, often a government entity, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between parties and administer justice in civil, criminal, and administrative matters in accordance with the rule of law. Courts genera ...

.Crown Prosecution Service MOU on document fraud
Accessed: 2013-06-07 In addition, the NDFU maintains one of the largest and most comprehensive libraries of specimen genuine and fraudulent

travel document A travel document is an identity document issued by a government or international entity pursuant to international agreements to enable individuals to clear border control measures. Travel documents usually assure other governments that the beare ...

s in the world.

References

{{reflist Document forgery Fraud organizations London Borough of Hounslow Fraud in the United Kingdom United Kingdom border control