Roundtable Meeting with Command Staff of Lviv Oblast PD
On February 6, the Chief of the Lviv Oblast Police Department along with his command staff met with the delegation to welcome them to the City of Lviv, discuss the law enforcement situation throughout the region, provide statistics, and present challenges that the police face in Western Ukraine. Thirteen representatives of the media were present and openly asked questions of the delegation and the Lviv Police Chief (a very significant exchange that demonstrates the state of police-media relations in Lviv). The US delegation, in turn, outlined critical community policing strategies in Michigan and revealed many of the challenges that US law enforcement faces in securing public safety. At the end of the session, the Chief, his senior staff, and the US delegation laid flowers at the law-enforcement memorial that recognizes Lviv police officers killed in the line of duty.

Meeting with City Administration and Municipal Police
On February 6, the Deputy Mayor and the Head of the City Administration's Municipal Police Unit met with the delegation and presented the structure of this unarmed security force. The US delegation drew comparisons to municipal policing in Michigan, in terms of financing, subordination to the mayor (and police commissions, in many cases), and jurisdiction. This was an especially interesting exchange because municipal policing is the exception and not the rule in Ukraine, where all police agencies are subordinate to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and not local government administrations. At the end of the meeting, the delegation was taken to the top of City Hall's Bell Tower, from which they saw a spectacular view of the city and learned more about the history of the "City of Lions."

Lectures to the Cadets of the Lviv institute of Internal Affairs
On February 8, the delegation was divided into four classrooms, where each trainer met with 25+ cadets. The US trainers spoke about Police Training and Education, Police Human Resources, Neighborhood Quality of Life, Domestic Violence Response, Juvenile Affairs, the US System of Education, and, of course, Life in America. The US delegation reported that this was one of the most active (and interactive) sessions, due to the cadets lack of inhibition or ingrained observation of strict protocol. Many of the cadets even asked questions in English, fully demonstrating a new generation of police officers in Ukraine, who are not only trained in law, but are well spoken in three or more languages.

Presentations at Secondary Schools
On February 12, 13, and 15, the delegation visited secondary schools around the City of Lviv. The children were even more responsive than the Institute cadets, asking many questions and demanding information about police work in the US. The delegation gave presentations to over 250 pupils, and even gave autographs to dozens and dozens, who swamped the US police officers between classes. After Officer James Campbell talked about the School Resource Officer Program, one group of kids even drafted a letter to the Mayor of Lviv requesting that a police officer be assigned to their school. Other groups painted pictures of their meetings with the delegation, portraying how they see law enforcement in the US (some were flattering, others were not). The delegation also met with teachers, who talked about many of their concerns of safety and crime in schools, to which the US team talked in more detail about the juvenile crime situation in Michigan schools today.

Visiting the City Guard of Yavoriv
On February 12, the delegation went to the City of Yavoriv, which is located 30 miles outside of Lviv. In addition to meeting with the Mayor and the Chief of the Yavoriv PD, the US delegation had the opportunity to meet with the Yavoriv "City Guard," which is a volunteer community group (unarmed but uniformed), trained to assist the police in keeping the peace. The formation of such community groups was approved as a result of law No. 1872 (the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine - 12/20/00) that deals with the inclusion of community groups in assisting local self-government agencies, law enforcement agencies, border security, and executive bodies in ensuring public safety.

Ride-alongs with the Lviv Traffic Police
On February 13, the delegation met with the Head of the Lviv Traffic Police ("State Auto Inspection" - DAI in Ukrainian) and patrol officers. After receiving an overview of the responsibilities and jurisdiction of DAI (it is a separate division within the Ministry), the US delegation spoke about the overlap of US police officers in terms of the vast myriad of tasks that they are responsible for. Each delegate was then taken for ride-alongs (with translators) in and around Lviv for a couple of hours to witness how Ukrainian law enforcement interact with the citizens on the roads. Both Project Harmony staff and the US delegation were impressed by how the Ukrainian officers were carrying out the Ministry's mandate to improve relations between the police and the citizens they protect, through their professionalism and cordial communication style.

Presentation at Shevchenkivskyi District PD
On February 16, as is customary for PH law-enforcement programs, the US delegation had a short training component in the capital city of Ukraine. At the Shevchenkivskyi District PD, which is one of 10 administrative district of Kyiv, the US trainers met with the Chief of the District PD and his command staff to talk about police work in the US. The highlight began when Major-General Mykola Kurko, Head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs' Department of Staff and Personnel and a CPC Phase I Alumnus, arrived at the PD to open up the official presentation to a room of 65 police officers. It was clear that General Kurko observed a great deal during his two-week training program in Michigan the year before as he facilitated the discussion quite in favor of the community-oriented policing philosophy and the benefits it would bring to the Ukrainian police force.

Media Coverage
Mass media coverage at the regional and local levels was solid. Reporters representing TV, radio and print media attended numerous events. Almost daily in the Lviv TV and radio news section, there was a short report on the delegation's activities during the program. Lyudmyla Mayor, Head of the Lviv State TV and Radio, was a CPC Phase I Alumna and helped regional media focus on the program. Many of the articles can be found on the CPTI website.