Assessing the Fit Between U.S. Sponsored Training and the Needs of Ukrainian Police Agencies

• NCJ Number: 220768
• Author(s): Dennis Jay Kenney; Melissa Reuland; Anatolity Zakaliuk; Howell C. Huneycutt; John Welter
• Date Published: September 2001
• Length: 74 pages
• Grant Number(s): 1999-IJ-CX-0026
• Agencies: NIJ-Sponsored
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)

Annotation

This federally supported report describes the United States sponsored law enforcement programs that have been conducted in Ukraine, evaluates the process by which the law enforcement training and information exchange programs are conducted, and attempts to assess the impact or effect of these training/exchange programs.

Abstract

The analysis suggests that the United States sponsored law enforcement training in Ukraine has been only partially responsive to the participants’ needs. Aside from the issues of responsiveness to Ukrainian law enforcement needs, the training programs have suffered from poor applicability. Consequently, given the overall small numbers of practitioners reached, the small percentages of any single agency trained, and the limited applicability of the materials offered it remains unlikely that the training offered will be institutionalized or have a lasting impact on law enforcement practices in Ukraine. Little evidence was found that the United States’ techniques taught in these training courses were being routinely applied by their organizations. Steps are outlined which are believed to be necessary to produce an effective training program: (1) program goals should be clearly stated and understood; (2) there should be a standardized coordination of efforts; (3) officials should design training for sustainability, develop locally relevant curricula, prepare content on important, appropriate topics, develop a cadre of experienced trainers, and engage appropriate participants; (4) participation in the development and delivery of training and exchanges, long-term fellowships, short-term exchanges, and workshops on administrative topics should be expanded; and (5) all training and exchange events should be rigorously evaluated. In 1999, the Police Executive Research Forum (PERF) was funded by the U.S. Department of Justice, National Institute of Justice (NIJ) to document and assess the law enforcement training programs implemented in Ukraine as provided under the Anti-Crime Training and Technical Assistance (ACTTA) Program in 1997. The ACTTA program brings U.S. Federal law enforcement agencies together to provide training and technical assistance in Russia, the Newly Independent States (NIS), and Central Europe. Appendixes A-F