Thai Immigration to tap into Interpol database to fight crime

[webfact]

Immigration to tap into Interpol database to fight crime
Phuket Gazette


Interpol's database contains about 47 million cancelled and stolen passports. Photo: Jeremie Schatz

BANGKOK: -- Immigration police in Thailand are attempting to link their system with Interpol’s database of stolen and revoked passports as part of the crackdown on transnational criminals that saw a Russian wanted for human smuggling in his homeland arrested in Phuket.

“Interpol’s database contains about 47 million cancelled and stolen passports,” said Maj Gen Apichat Suriboonya, commander of the Foreign Affairs Division of the Royal Thai Police.

The failure of the Thai immigration system to connect with the Interpol database has allowed numerous foreigners to sneak into the country undetected.

Full story: http://www.phuketgazette.net/phuket-news/Immigration-tap-Interpol-database-fight-crime/62614?desktopversion


-- Phuket Gazette 2015-12-14

[dageurreotype]

The failure of the Thai immigration

The massive routinely covered up by superiors corruption would be far more effective. But hey, let's not spoil your silly soundbite.

[scorecard]

It didn't connect, so fix it.

[Somtamnication]

They will be able to connect once the immigration computers have non pirated Windows copies installed.

[Nicki D]

What century is this?

[klauskunkel]

The failure of the Thai immigration system to connect with the Interpol database has allowed numerous foreigners to sneak into the country undetected.

The failure is all Interpol's for not delivering 47 million x 2 copies to the immigration dept.

[bino]

Aow - they are just figuring this out now??? Amazing Thailand.

[al007]

The failure of the Thai immigration system to connect with the Interpol database has allowed numerous foreigners to sneak into the country undetected.

The failure is all Interpol's for not delivering 47 million x 2 copies to the immigration dept.

Yes hard copies please

Immigration must have 500 copies of my information, many duplicates, when I went to KK last week for reentry permit, and 9o day report they took six more copies, also on the computer

The powers that be request save the environment, the wast of trees paper and storage all a farce

We were asked for my wife to waste more paper confirming where I have lived for the last six years

[lust]

Yay. 1 step closer to globalism. Isn't it great?!

[ALLSEEINGEYE]

I wonder if Taksin's passport will be listed there?

Edited December 14, 2015 by ALLSEEINGEYE

[simple1]

Aow - they are just figuring this out now??? Amazing Thailand.

I wouldn't be too quick to criticise...

Secretary General Jürgen Stock has welcomed the decision by European Union ministers for all EU external border control points to be connected to INTERPOL’s global databases and for automatic screening of travel documents to be introduced by March 2016.

http://www.interpol.int/News-and-media/News/2015/N2015-200

Edited December 14, 2015 by simple1

[lonewolf99]

So...every time I had my passport over to them....what exactly does an immigration officer see on his screen when he lays it face down on a glass box thing on his desk ?

Criminal record ? wanted by interpol, wanted for not paying fines, on the run, terrorist ....Nope......Which might go a long way to explain why this country is full of brigands, bandits, rogues, ne'er-do-wells and all sorts of common riff raff.

I have what is called a Bio-metric passport. I went on WiKi to find out what this is and basically all it does on my passport is a face recognition of the photo I have in my passport. That is why they ask you to look at the camera.

It can be used for finger prints ( I have never given mine knowingly ?) and I guess DNA ? again I have never given knowingly to the UK passport office. So what is the point ?

My face matches the photo, if it was a fake passport the first thing they do is try and make sure that bit is correct - No ?

How long would it take for a Thai computer to trawl through the entire 47 million "known" passports... you could be standing in line for a long time !

If ever there was a chance for curtailing the movements of "bad guys" then surely the passport would be the thing. And that would be at the check-in counter for the flight, or the departing countries immigration. Surely it should Not be at the 3rd check at the country they are going to...

But no, the passport system fails miserably, they still get through.

[peterb17]

Yay. 1 step closer to globalism. Isn't it great?!

Strange comment- if this means keeping an eye on these sexual deviants , preventing their travel and perhaps saving young girls and boys being raped and abused. Not a bad thing?

[Emster23]

"Charity (and crime fighting) ought to begin at home". They seem to go to any length to avoid doing actual police work that just might involve a Thai criminal.

[simple1]

So...every time I had my passport over to them....what exactly does an immigration officer see on his screen when he lays it face down on a glass box thing on his desk ?

Criminal record ? wanted by interpol, wanted for not paying fines, on the run, terrorist ....Nope......Which might go a long way to explain why this country is full of brigands, bandits, rogues, ne'er-do-wells and all sorts of common riff raff.

I have what is called a Bio-metric passport. I went on WiKi to find out what this is and basically all it does on my passport is a face recognition of the photo I have in my passport. That is why they ask you to look at the camera.

It can be used for finger prints ( I have never given mine knowingly ?) and I guess DNA ? again I have never given knowingly to the UK passport office. So what is the point ?

My face matches the photo, if it was a fake passport the first thing they do is try and make sure that bit is correct - No ?

How long would it take for a Thai computer to trawl through the entire 47 million "known" passports... you could be standing in line for a long time !

If ever there was a chance for curtailing the movements of "bad guys" then surely the passport would be the thing. And that would be at the check-in counter for the flight, or the departing countries immigration. Surely it should Not be at the 3rd check at the country they are going to...

But no, the passport system fails miserably, they still get through.

Not only Thailand, a number of countries have the same issues. However, check out the projects that SITA is working on with implementing I-Checkit, that should address your concerns.

[hawker9000]

Yay. 1 step closer to globalism. Isn't it great?!

Yes, a step. Great or not so, thank muslim extremism. Terrorism is now a fact of life. Globally. And heaven forbid we should start - dare I say it - "profiling" <gasp>. So deal with it. As someone who's just had his pp stolen, if this helps catch the scumbucket and helps get him introduced to the joys of Thai "institutional living", I'm all for it.

[gandalf12]

They have had access to the Interpol database for years, pity they just started using it. If they had used it before maybe the Erawan bombing would never have taken place

[dageurreotype]

So...every time I had my passport over to them....what exactly does an immigration officer see on his screen when he lays it face down on a glass box thing on his desk ?

Criminal record ? wanted by interpol, wanted for not paying fines, on the run, terrorist ....Nope......Which might go a long way to explain why this country is full of brigands, bandits, rogues, ne'er-do-wells and all sorts of common riff raff.

I have what is called a Bio-metric passport. I went on WiKi to find out what this is and basically all it does on my passport is a face recognition of the photo I have in my passport. That is why they ask you to look at the camera.

It can be used for finger prints ( I have never given mine knowingly ?) and I guess DNA ? again I have never given knowingly to the UK passport office. So what is the point ?

My face matches the photo, if it was a fake passport the first thing they do is try and make sure that bit is correct - No ?

How long would it take for a Thai computer to trawl through the entire 47 million "known" passports... you could be standing in line for a long time !

If ever there was a chance for curtailing the movements of "bad guys" then surely the passport would be the thing. And that would be at the check-in counter for the flight, or the departing countries immigration. Surely it should Not be at the 3rd check at the country they are going to...

But no, the passport system fails miserably, they still get through.

They can do all the 'biometric faces and fingerprints' thing they like old sweetheart. Still doesn't beat baht in the pocket.

[Bench499d]

The failure of the Thai immigration system to connect with the Interpol database has allowed numerous foreigners to sneak into the country undetected.

If the foreigners are sneaking into the country undetected, how is linking a computer system going to help?

[gerry123]

are attempting ??still ironing the bugs in the online 90 day report

[mikosan]

And about time too. Another small step forward in getting rid of the foreign riff-raff that has invaded Thailand.

[Squeegee]

Land of barn doors and bolted horses.

[Thai at Heart]

They haven't even computerised all the entries for legal foreigners IN Thailand yet...... How will they cross reference when they don't have a dataset of their own yet.

[Mitkof Island]

What will they do with thousands of foreign criminals not being able to enter, hide, and party here for years at a time? There needs to be road checkpoints to also check for valid visas . They could catch hundreds daily . Time to build more prisons to hold all the foreign criminals hiding here. I won,t mention the cities where these scum are located. I might hurt someones feelings

[Mitkof Island]

I agree with you. Want to take a wild guess how many foreign riff-raff are here ? Where they are likely located in Thailand? And where the majority come from.

And about time too. Another small step forward in getting rid of the foreign riff-raff that has invaded Thailand.

[Petchou]

How many TV active members are in interpol database? I am really curious

Edited December 14, 2015 by Petchou

[lostinisaan]

They will be able to connect once the immigration computers have non pirated Windows copies installed.

And Baidu browser for all....

[wow64]

Wasn't this fixed after the Malaysia Air disaster?

Oh that's right the single gateway filtered it out.

[Yahooka]

What will they do with thousands of foreign criminals not being able to enter, hide, and party here for years at a time? There needs to be road checkpoints to also check for valid visas . They could catch hundreds daily . Time to build more prisons to hold all the foreign criminals hiding here. I won,t mention the cities where these scum are located. I might hurt someones feelings

Dream on,checkpoints in-or out of f.ex Pattaya on the Sukhumvit will lead to gridlock.In many cases police knows where the riff raff are located and every now and then they arrest them........more easy.

[NCC1701A]

boy, the mafia police must be really pissed off about all this computer stuff.