Identifying suspects and criminals is one of the major challenges facing law enforcement officers and investigators. Members of itinerant or mobile criminal groups in particular tend to use multiple identities to avoid detection. Europol has now introduced a tool that will enable EU law enforcement personnel to effectively spot fake ID documents from genuine ones. First developed by the Bavarian State Criminal Police (BLKA), the German Document Information System (DOCIS) has now been launched in English and Europol is coordinating distribution of the system to all Member State law enforcement authorities. DOCIS is an easy–to–use reference tool, used throughout Germany, to identify fake ID and vehicle documents. owever, as the system was only available in German, its potential for international use was limited. Following requests from several Member States, Europol decided to translate DOCIS into its working language, English, and signed a specific cooperation agreement with the Bavarian LKA. Europol’s Director, Rob Wainwright, and the Bavarian Minister of the Interior, Mr Joachim Herrmann, met on April 12th for the official handover of DOCIS. [www.europol.europa.eu]