Ukraine's new police on charm offensive in KievKIEV, Ukraine (AP) — Only a few months ago, Kiev residents would normally avoid the police if they could help it. The officer would be of no use on a complaint — or worse, would demand a bribe.
Not any longer. These days, Kiev residents approach members of a new police force that has hit the streets — and even ask to take a picture with them. It's being welcomed as the Ukrainian government's first visible reform since it came to power in February 2014.
In the first phase of a comprehensive overhaul, the entire traffic police corps of Kiev was disbanded and replaced on July 4 by a retrained force — with new powers to make arrests as well as issue speeding or parking tickets. The police reform ultimately aims to retrain, and possibly replace, the entire Ukrainian Interior Ministry, including elite inspectors on serious crimes such as murder and corporate fraud. The initiative is supported by the United States and managed by Eka Zguladze, who was in charge of a largely successful police reform in her native Georgia.
One of the pledges of the new Kiev government, which took over last year after pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovych fled the country, was to combat rampant corruption in Ukraine's police. Just as in neighboring Russia, Ukraine's police corps was perceived as chronically extorting bribes and harassing citizens.
The new government decided to start from scratch. The first phase replaced the old traffic police with a new 2,000-strong patrol team trained by Ukrainians who had themselves received instruction from American officers. While the traffic police were suspended rather than sacked, it is still not clear whether the old cops will be able to come back.
The backbone of the overhaul was a training program this year for 100 Ukrainian police instructors, run by the U.S. Department of Justice and the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs. They went on to teach the new police course in Kiev for the inaugural class of new officers who hit the streets this month.
http://news.yahoo.com/ukraines-police-charm-offensive-kiev-092001944.html
