Cooperation between law enforcement officials continues with Ukrainian visit to U.S. (01/24/93)

Cooperation between law enforcement officials
continues with Ukrainian visit to U.S.

by Andres Durbak

CHICAGO - The nascent project of contact and cooperation between law enforcement officials of Ukraine and their Ukrainian American counterparts in the United States passed a major milestone, when four officials from Ukraine arrived in New York City, on October 9, 1992. Their Kennedy Airport reception by D.E.A. Special Agents Ihor Rakowski and Bohdan Bachara typified the characteristic Ukrainian hospitality afforded them throughout their travels in America.

It was the same hospitality Ukrainian American Law Enforcement officials had encountered during their visits to Ukraine - a Ukrainian hospitality, which made you feel at home in a foreign land.

The entire three-week visit - full of meetings, conferences, ride-alongs, classes and tours - was thoroughly planned by an ad-hoc team of Ukrainian American law enforcement officials. The main portion of the tour was spent in the Chicago area, in the care of this writer, Chicago Police Tactical Lt. Andres Durbak, and Evanston Police Crime Prevention Officer Michael Shep, with the assistance of Chicago Police Patrol Sgt. Nicholas Nehoda and many other volunteers.

The East Coast portion of the tour was overseen by Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agent Rakowski, with the assistance of Agent Bachara, Supervisor Ihor Novozyniuk and Lubomyr Kurylko.

Unfaltering financial support for the whole project was provided by the Evangelical Lutheran Synod missionary organization "Thoughts of Faith." Invaluable assistance was provided by the Northwestern University Traffic Institute, the National Institute of Justice, the Holiday Inn of Evanston, The Chicago Group, Mr. Kurylko, as well as many other institutions and individuals.

The visit would not have been possible without the requisite "official" invitations, which were provided without hesitation.

Visit to crime prevention show

Two commanding officers of Ukraine's Militia, Lt. Col. Viktor Hryhorovych Matlashevsky from Ternopil and Maj. Ihor Hryhorovych Tsikalo from Lviv, were invited by the Evanston Police Department to attend the annual Randhurst Crime Prevention Show.

Two officials of the Security Service of Ukraine, Maj. Borys Yosypovych Lutsenko and Maj. Vadym Petrovych Yashenkov from the Department of Drug, Corruption and Organized Crime Enforcement, were invited by the Northwestern University Traffic Institute. Their knowledge of English allowed them to attend the two-week course, "Managing Small and Medium-Sized Police Departments," on a scholarship provided by the Traffic Institute. All four officials resided in the city of Evanston, a beautiful university town situated on the picturesque shore of Lake Michigan.

While Majs. Lutsenko and Yashenkov attended classes at the Traffic Institute, Cmdrs. Matlashevsky and Tsikalo inspected several Chicago-area police departments and institutions of higher learning. They held informative meetings at Harper College, the University of Illinois Office of International Criminal Justice and Lewis University.

While with the Chicago Police Department, they rode along with Sgt. Nehoda on patrol, inspected the modern Training Academy and visited several district stations. They saw what the future may hold during an inspection of the Bolingbrook Police Department's thoroughly computerized operation. The Evanston Police Department welcomed them warmly and took all four visitors on a successful narcotics raid for "crack," something unseen in Ukraine.

Majs. Lutsenko and Yashenkov expressed an interest in organized crime and drug enforcement methods practiced in America. Their education began with the Evanston Police raid, followed by a demonstration of the latest technology at the Chicago Police Intelligence Unit and finalized by tours of the Chicago and New York offices of the Drug Enforcement Administration.

Their exploration of America's war on drugs reached a pinnacle at the Contraband and Cargo Inspection Technology International Symposium, which they attended in Washington with the assistance of the National Institute of Justice. They were able to open up the first avenue of information exchange between Ukraine's law enforcement officials and the National Institute of Justice, which assists many countries in their drug enforcement efforts.

Meetings with fellow Ukrainians

The most memorable moments of this first visit were experienced when interacting with our guests in an unofficial or Ukrainian setting. The commonality of interests and dedication to professional excellence was felt by all involved. The ease with which it was possible to communicate and associate, because of our common heritage, was felt from the start. An informal gathering with Ukrainian American Police Officers in a Ukrainian restaurant was a great success.

A formal panel discussion sponsored by The Chicago Group, though not very well attended, was very frank and informative. A gratifying by-product of this visit was the mutual and unexpected discovery of law enforcement professionals of Ukrainian descent, heretofore unknown to each other.

The future presents many possibilities for contact and exchange with Ukraine's law enforcement professionals. The Office of International Criminal Justice at the University of Illinois in Chicago is actively engaged in opening avenues of contact with Ukraine. Law and Order magazine is considering a tour of Ukraine by American police professionals during 1993. The National Academy of the Militia in Kyyiv would like to host visiting Ukrainian American police professionals willing and able to lecture on relevant topics.

There is a need to fund the travel of English-speaking officials of the Militia for study at American university programs, such as the Traffic Institute, or at academies of federal law enforcement agencies. We need to continue past this first important milestone to future, more important milestones.

The future of Ukraine will depend to a greater extent than commonly realized, upon the direction its law enforcement establishment will take. That future direction can be modeled upon the best practices found in the West, or it could remain rooted in the all too familiar past. Increasing contacts and exchanges are sure to have the desired effect.

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