By Beth Burger
Chattanooga Times Free Press
CHATTANOOGA — In an effort to learn more about policing abroad and to share their faith, local law enforcement officers recently traveled to a former Soviet country in hopes of connecting with counterparts there.
Hamilton County Sheriff Jim Hammond, who helped organize the trip in July, went to Moldova with Chattanooga Police Department Field Training Officer Dan Jones, along with a few other officers from around the country.
Officers raised their own money — about $3,000 — to travel for an exchange program specialized for Christian law officers.
“It’s a good experience which helps me learn how policing is done in other parts of the world, which makes me a better sheriff,” said Hammond, who has experience in training law officers overseas. “All the guys that have ever gone with me, they say they learn as much as they hopefully impart to foreign police.”
Before becoming sheriff, Hammond worked as an international police training officer for the federal government in such countries as Iraq, Jordan, Haiti and others.
The July trip was his first trip abroad since he became sheriff in 2008. It was organized through the Fellowship of Christian Peace Officers.
Jones, who is the president of the local chapter of the organization, said the trip, in which officers toured jails and police stations within the country, was preparation for future exchanges.
“This trip was to lay the foundation and just say to them, ‘We’re a bunch of good guys, and we want to know how you operate,’” Jones said. “We also share how Christ affected us in our lives and helped us in our daily life of being a police officer.”
A retired Moldova officer is expected to stay with Jones at his home in Bradley County next month.
In Moldova, police forces are plagued with corruption and deal with such issues as sex trafficking and terrorism, which contrasts with America’s main problem of gun violence, Jones said.
Hammond said countries in Eastern Europe “are excellent at SWAT training and weaponry. So we learn a lot from that.”
“On the other hand, we’re better in terms of organization and communication. So we share with them,” Hammond said.
Hammond and Jones said the justice system in Moldova also operates much differently than the one in the U.S. The key difference is people are presumed guilty upon arrest in Moldova and must prove their innocence.
Some Moldovan officers also have been laid off and don’t always have a steady paycheck, Hammond said.
“We don’t know how good we have it until we go to a place like that,” Jones said. “We, as Americans, are selfish.”
Copyright 2011 Chattanooga Publishing Company