Fake Passports

There seems to be a distinct rise in fake passports around the world, with the United Kingdom (UK), the European Union (EU), the United States (US), and many more countries reporting increased use of fake passports to try to cross their borders. Simply googling the phrase ‘Fake Passport Statistics’ will bring up several pages of results, which go back as far as the early 2000’.

Here in Malta it seems relatively common for someone to be caught with a fake passport; every year there are a couple of people who get caught with them either trying to sell them to others or trying to use them while either entering or leaving the country. It has become a very serious problem, and it seemingly is impossible to stop those committing the crime.

“There is a global racket of passport selling and we’re a part of it,” presiding magistrate Joe Mifsud said. “I don’t exclude the financing of terrorism with this scheme.”

My question is what is being done to curb the making, selling, and use of these fake passports? From what I have read not a lot. The four individuals in David Hudson’s story had these passports taken away from them and were given the minimum sentence of six months, though what exactly will that do to prevent them from trying the same thing again in the future? I can sympathise with them and their wish to have a different passport than the one they have from their home country but that does not excuse the creation and use of fake passports. In the end these 4 people will have a criminal record here in Malta, which if they wish to find work in other European countries, and possibly even others countries, might have a very negative affect on that goal, since there is no guarantee that they will not try the same thing again in a different country. This has most certainly become one of the biggest mistakes they have made in their lives, with potentially far reaching consequences.

Another article goes into more detail on a different case where the accused was a lot older that the 4 in the story mentioned above. In this case the man, after trying to use his fake passport to fly to the UK, was given a longer sentence and was to be deported back to his home country.

Magistrate Astrid May Grima has jailed a man for 8 months, after he admitted to having attempted to use a false passport to travel from Malta.

I wonder if he receive a harsher sentence in comparison to the 4 in the previous story? If so why was that? Is it (using fake passports) something he has done before? I would argue that from the way magistrate Joe Mifsud (from the first story) that he felt bad for the 4 young people and therefore gave them the least amount of punishment he is legally allowed to give them, he also wanted them to be give compassion, in comparison the man from the second story was given a harsher sentence from magistrate Astrid May Grima. My personal theory for why that was the case has to do with their age. The young people still have time to learn and have so much of their lives ahead of them, while the older man should already know that what he did was wrong and therefore needs something more to drive the point home. I don’t know if my theory is wrong, and if it is then I would very much like to hear a different reason. As for my last question I don’t know if he’s used a fake passport before, but if he has then maybe that is also a reason for why he got a longer sentence.