The delegates with PH staff, host families and partners say farewell at the Rochester airport.

A three-member delegation from Velikiy Novgorod visited Rochester for the fifth and final phase of the Rochester - Velikiy Novgorod Law Enforcement Exchange Program August 14-26, 2002. The delegation was comprised of two Novgorod City Police Officers and a representative of the Novgorod City Administration. Out of the 7-day professional program, the delegates had 3.5 days of individualized shadowing with their US counterparts. Alexander Mikhalev, Deputy Head of Criminal Investigations for the Novgorod City Police, spent this time with the investigators in RPD's Central Investigation Division. He learned about the technology and methods used to solve crimes in Rochester. Dmitry Konshin, Head of the Drug Unit in the Novgorod City Police Department, shadowed the officers in RPD's Vice Squad, observing the manner in which officers search for and arrest drug dealers, as well as the way they legally verify substances as narcotics. Both delegates also observed, through ride-alongs, the way in which the police positively interact with the public.

Olga Vasileva, Head of Novgorod's Committee of Social Issues and Health Protection, learned about the City's Department of Human Services, Parks and Recreation, as well as police and city media relations. She also observed a juvenile accountability conference and a university training on drug and alcohol abuse for student leaders. Together, the group toured the Law Enforcement Training Center and the Office of Emergency Communications, observed a monthly meeting of the Downtown Section's Police and Citizen Interaction Committee and learned about the Neighbors Building Neighborhoods and Neighborhood Empowerment Team programs to improve the quality of life in Rochester.

Program in Hours
Total Interactive, Hands-on Training Hours	31
Total In-Class Training Hours	8
Total Program Orientation and Debriefing Hours	5
Total Cultural Program Hours	25
Total Number of Program Contributors	53
Total Number of Agencies Represented	14
Total Number of Host Families	3
Total Number of Contributors who also contributed to Phases I & III	24
Total Number of Russian Delegates	3
Total Number of Project Harmony Staff	2

Alexander Mikhalev and Cpt. Lynde Johnston display the Russian flag on Russia's Flag Day, August 22

On August 22, the Rochester Police Department and City School District marked Russia's Flag Day, established in 1994 by then President Boris Yeltsin, by presenting the delegates with a desktop stand displaying the US Stars and Stripes alongside the Russian Tri-Color flag. Other cultural highlights of the program included hiking at Niagara Falls, riding the roller coasters at Six Flags Darien Lake, listening to an outdoor concert in Perinton and taking in a Redwings baseball game.

Summary of Program Schedule
Program Highlights

The welcome the delegation received from the Rochester community truly felt like a homecoming. The Russian delegates recognized the seven trainers who visited Velikiy Novgorod during Phases II and IV of the exchange and also knew their families, program partners and local sites from the photos and videos their colleagues, participants in Phases I and III, had shown to them. Indeed, Project Harmony thanks the countless individuals, businesses and groups that contributed to multiple phases of this program.

The commitment from the Rochester community to this exchange program has been truly remarkable. In fact, this fifth phase was made possible by the generosity of the seven professionals from the Rochester Police Department and City School District who traveled to Russia to train during Phases II and IV of the exchange. They donated their professional training stipends towards bringing three more delegates from Russia to Rochester.