Telegram & Gazette
WORCESTER, Mass. — During a visit to Worcester with a group from Russia this week, Pushkin Police Chief Andrey Alexandrovich Litvinov seemed curious and perhaps a bit confused about some aspects of how the criminal justice system works here.
The police and fire officials from Worcester’s sister city, Pushkin, Russia, touring the Worcester County Courthouse were intrigued and businesslike, firing all sorts of questions at District Attorney Joseph D. Early Jr. Chief Litvinov and others asked questions about a variety of issues, including who actually investigates crimes such as homicides and violent assaults, whether Worcester has its own highway patrol, and what constitutes illegal drugs.
But there were lighter moments, such as when the Russian chief was speaking with Mr. Early about the role of the sheriff’s departments in Pushkin, a city on the outskirts of St. Petersburg, and in Worcester County. Both departments, for example, transport prisoners to local courthouses. And while Mr. Early said sheriff’s deputies in Worcester County have arrest powers, they typically defer to state and local police in most situations.
Through an interpreter, Chief Litvinov said it’s a little different in Russia.
“Our law is that every police officer must arrest someone to prevent a crime anywhere,” the chief said. “Even in the United States.”
The conference room burst into laughter, and Mr. Early joked that “we don’t have that power in Russia.”
The International Center of Worcester, which is not part of Clark University but is on the college’s campus, secured funding for the visit through the federally sponsored Open World program, part of the U.S. Library of Congress.
Mr. Early and the chief both said after the meeting they realized that while some aspects of the criminal justice system are very different, there are similarities, too.
“A lot of our problems are shared problems,” Mr. Early said. “Violence, drugs, things of that nature.”
Royce Anderson, executive director of the International Center of Worcester, said one aspect of American criminal justice that stood out to the Russian group was all the various law enforcement agencies in cities and towns across the country.
“The whole structure in Russia is different,” Mr. Anderson said. “In Russia it’s a vertical, federal system. The police chief in Pushkin reports to St. Petersburg’s regional authority, who in turn reports to a larger authority, and ultimately the federal authority. There’s something like 17,000 law enforcement agencies in this country, and they’re all independent. It’s not vertical, and that surprises them a lot. To them, it’s really inefficient. But we see the benefits.”
The group met this week with city police and fire officials, and attended a City Council meeting Tuesday night. The Russians are scheduled to spend the rest of the week visiting the Worcester County Sheriff’s Department and the Worcester County Jail and House of Correction, the Leicester Police Department and the Museum of Russian Icons in Clinton.
Mr. Anderson said programs like Open World help foster a sense of “citizen diplomacy.”
“It has a lot more of a positive impact on the general understanding between the countries. When you consider the thousands of people who have come through on these programs, it has a real multiplier effect. They go home and tell family and friends about their experiences.”
Copyright 2009 Telegram & Gazette