The road to a police leadership position in Vietnam may include a detour to College Park.
Thirty-eight Vietnamese police officers arrived at the University of Maryland earlier this month to conduct research for the next six weeks on the way to earning Master of Public Policy degrees in justice leadership. The program started in April 2011 with classes in Hanoi taught by U.Md. faculty and People's Police Academy instructors.
Their research projects focus on how police organizations are structured, how to train officers, crime prevention and other topics, said Charles Caramello, dean of U.Md.'s Graduate School.
"What they're learning is going to be used in a very practical way as they do their jobs in Vietnam," he said.
The students were interested in learning about professional policing and evidence-based practices in the United States and studying how those methods could work in Vietnam, said Sally S. Simpson, chairwoman of the U.Md. criminology and criminal justice department.
"They're taking what we know about the U.S. and applying it to their own situations," she said.
THe program is funded by the government of Vietnam, according to a U.Md. spokeswoman.
The class includes 29 men and nine women, including a husband-and-wife pair. Most are between the ages of 25 and 35.
A few of the students already hold high-ranking positions, others have mid-level leadership jobs and the rest are rank-and-file officers, Caramello said. The Vietnamese police academy nominated officers, who were then selected and admitted by Maryland officials.
"This is leadership training for their next generation of police," he said.
While in College Park, the students are also planning to tour local police departments, agencies, prisons and other criminal-justice institutions.
The group will graduate this fall.
The university and People's Police Academy have planned to continue the program for five years, Simpson said, and a new cohort is expected to arrive at the Maryland campus next year.
Victor Cuvo, Attorney at Law
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