Officers from Ukraine undergo polygraph training in the U.S. (03/14/99)

Officers from Ukraine undergo polygraph training in the U.S.

by Andres Durbak

CHICAGO - Five English-speaking officers from the Kyiv and Lviv academies of Ukraine's Ministry of Internal Affairs have undergone a two-month polygraph (lie detector) examiner training course at the Academy of Forensic Psychophysiology in Largo, Fla.

Upon completion of this course of training, which began on January 4, they will become the first polygraph specialists to be employed in Ukraine's expanding fight against organized crime and corruption. In Ukraine, these new specialists will develop training courses at their academies, so that Ukraine's newly purchased polygraph machines can become valuable investigative tools, as they are in America.

This modernizing effort for Ukrainian law enforcement was initiated by Col. Ihor Rakowsky, a senior member of the Ukrainian American Police Association (UAPA), who has spearheaded several such projects since Ukraine's independence. His counterpart in Ukraine's Ministry of Internal Affairs, Col. Vasyl Didyk, selected the best qualified officers for this project and secured the necessary airfare from the ministry. Training fees and cost of books were covered by the polygraph machine makers themselves, the Axciton Computerized Polygraph Co. All that remained was the considerable cost of room and board for a two-month stay in Florida.

Fundraising to cover the students' daily needs, was undertaken by the Ukrainian American Police Association with assistance from the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America and the Ukrainian National Credit Union Association. The first to support UAPA efforts with a generous donation was the Rev. John Shep of Thoughts of Faith Ukraine, who has championed many training projects for Ukraine's law enforcement agencies. The call for help brought donations from the Selfreliance credit unions of New York, Chicago and Yonkers, as well as from Gregory Malynowsky via the United Ukrainian American Relief Committee.

The UAPA is half-way toward meeting the fund-raising goal for the project, just as the Ukrainian officers passed the half-way point in their training. To help complete this project, please send contributions to: Ukrainian American Police Association, 7805 W. Farragut, Chicago, IL 60656.

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