I527-290 ESRIF Final Report (WEB).indd - European Commission

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Border Checks
The following classes of capabilities should be properly addressed:
Capabilities to face rising volume of traffi c of people and goods
Capabilities to detect illicit substances and concealed people
Capabilities to identify people and assets
Capabilities to process information, including issues of interoperability and situational awareness
Capabilities to perform threat assessments and profi ling, including information sharing and learning systems
The challenge of facing the rising volume of traffi c of people and goods requires capabilities for:
Higher speeds of detection, identifi cation, information processing and threat assessment of border check processes
Positive profi ling of low-risk frequent travellers
Flexible, upgradeable (mobile) solutions
User-friendly and aff ordable systems
Automation of border control
Incorporating a stand-off capability
Harmonised standards in security and mobility chains (linked to customs control)
Stakeholder management to create a secure supply chain (linked to customs control)
Dealing with increased technical skills among groups that pose threats
The challenge of detecting concealed people and illicit substances requires mainly technological capabilities for achieving:
Higher resolution of images
Better identifi cation of elemental, molecular, or biological composition (in order of increasing complexity) of the material
Higher detection rates with a low false alarm rate and at higher speed (especially nuclear)
Higher rates of detection, identifi cation and defusing of explosive devices
There may be opportunities for improved processes e.g. at seaports (or) using transit time to increase scan time, but there
are still a number of organisational and legal barriers to gain agreement on such processes with multiple seaports, countries,
stakeholders etc.
The challenge of identifying people and assets requires:
Means to assess the validity of travel documents
Means to identify overstayers
Methods and technologies to detect spoofi ng of biometric features. This holds especially for fi ngerprints.
Standardisation and certifi cation of equipment
Mobile devices and high-speed wireless connections for ID checking (including biometrics) in buses, trains, etc.
Surveillance of External Land Borders
A permanent surveillance of all parts of the external land border is neither needed nor politically desirable. Border surveillance
should thus be based on risk analysis and intelligence. This means that the focus for the surveillance of the external land
borders is on border patrols using mobile equipment, while only selected parts of the land border should be surveyed by
stationary systems.
There is currently a multitude of technical solutions for land border surveillance. However, the practical use of these
systems is hampered by cost, reliability and interoperability. One of the main challenges identified is that the systems
currently available are far too expensive. Furthermore, affordability and interoperability will therefore be key issues when
developing the requirements for the necessary equipment, systems, doctrines, processes and standards to enhance land
border security systems.
Such systems will have to work on a 24/7 basis and must be able, with a low false alarm rate, to send an early warning to
command systems. Furthermore those systems will have to be easy to use for Border Guards with support & services adapted
to the end-user requirements.
ESRIF FINAL REPORT - PART 2 • Working Group: Border Security