"Thu May 8, 9:00 AM ET

To: LABOR EDITORS

Contact: Tim Richardson of the Fraternal Order of Police, +1-202-547-8189

WASHINGTON, May 8 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Chuck Canterbury, National President of the Fraternal Order of Police, along with the organizations Pennsylvania State Lodge, joined together today in urging the Committee on Intergovernmental Affairs in the Commonwealths House of Representatives to adopt greater safeguards and anti-fraud measures to bring Pennsylvania into full compliance with the REAL ID Act.

For the FOP, this is very much an officer safety issue, Canterbury explained. Law enforcement officers need to have confidence that the documents presented to them to establish the identity of a given individual are accurate. Officers rely on these documents during traffic stops and other law enforcement actions to access information related to that individuals criminal history. No police officer wants to be in the dark about the fact that he may have detained a wanted and violent criminal who has simply obtained false identification.

Canterbury pointed to a large scale developing case in Pennsylvania involving an organized drug and arms trafficking ring involving more than forty violent offenders, many of whom used fraudulent identities using birth certificates and Social Security numbers taken from deceased children. Using this information, these criminals were able to lawfully purchase firearms, because the names and licenses they used triggered no red flags, even though they were all convicted felons. These identities allow them to evade law enforcement detection-enabling them to operate a successful cocaine distribution network until a plane crash containing a huge amount of cocaine led to the capture of several of the organizations members.

The Commonwealth does not check Social Security numbers against death records, said Mark Koch, President of the Pennsylvania State Lodge. This is a loophole in Pennsylvania that has been identified and exploited by criminals, and we want to work with the Committee to get it fixed.

The FOP is working with other law enforcement organizations and other stakeholder groups like the Coalition for Secure Drivers Licenses at the State level to educate members of State government about the need for compliance with the REAL ID Act and why it is important to law enforcement and effective anti-crime strategies.

Organized criminal operations no longer have a hideout to avoid detection or capture by law enforcement, Canterbury said. Now, they can hide in plain sight by changing their identities. It presents a real danger to the officer and to public safety. As the implementation of the REAL ID Act goes forward, law enforcement will be able to better combat identity theft, our officers will be safer, and our homeland will be more secure.

The Fraternal Order of Police is the largest law enforcement labor organization in the United States, with more than 325,000 members.

SOURCE Fraternal Order of Police"

http://news.yahoo.com/s/usnw/20080508/p ... _and_fraud