| 10 October 2008 The State Border Guard Service Board had its meeting at the SBGS Administration on 10 October. During the meeting, the border guards summed up its work over 9 months of 2008, and identified major activity areas for the fourth quarter of the current year and beyond. The most important issues submitted for discussion included development of an integrated border protection system, reformation of the staff development system, staff social protection, engineering equipment of the state border, etc. Having analyzed the current reformation of the service in accordance with modern European standards, the Board stated that the scheduled activities for new border units – border service branches had been almost 90% completed. The branches are responsible both for the organization of state border protection and for carrying out of admission operations at border segments, and they are provided with broad functions. Apart from the branches, another novelty in the State Border Guard Service consists of a recently established system of risk management and criminal analysis, units of which have already emerged in regional directorates and bodies of state border protection. The Board also discussed prospects of service organization with account for automation of its processes. In particular, the relevant structures were tasked with developing a model of protection for a Ukraine-Moldova border segment with an optoelectronic surveillance system. Results of operational service activities of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine, 9 months of 2008 Passenger transport flow. This year has seen a greater passenger transport flow across the state border. During 9 months, the border has been crossed by 69.5 million people, or 4% more than in the corresponding period of the previous year, as well as by almost 14 million vehicles (2% increase). Counteracting illegal migration. The number of illegal migrants detained for illegal crossing of the state border has decreased by 6% and amounted to more than 2,500. Besides, SBGS officers have not allowed, on lawful grounds, more than 19.5 thousand potential illegal migrants to enter Ukraine. Discovering usage of forged, somebody else’s and invalid documents. During 9 months, the SBGS has detected about 450 persons trying to cross the border with forged documents, that being 6% more than during 9 months of 2007. Besides, more than 19,000 persons have been found to travel with someone else’s, invalid or technically defective documents. Border guards prevented over 300 vehicles (8% more) from moving across the border using forged or defective documents.
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