Straus Institute Welcomes Delegation from the Korean National Police Agency
On Friday, June 18, Straus Institute hosted a delegation from the Korean National Police Agency to exchange ideas and explore collaborative opportunities. Professors Sukhsimranjit Singh, Stephanie Blondell, and Sarah Park shared information and insights on the successful conflict resolution training programs that Straus has provided to the law enforcement personnel of the Los Angeles Police Department over the past five years. Professor Blondell explained that, "Our program required input from both the officers and community members so that we could create a curriculum that encouraged reconciliation and empathy."
Captain Andrew Neiman, Commanding officer of Patrol Operations at LAPD joined the event. Captain Neiman emphasized the importance and value of the Straus conflict resolution training for community relationships, stating, "Police training is very traditional, which can be good, but the training that I've received at Straus has been great. The skills learned to deescalate high-tension situations has benefitted law enforcement relations within the LA community."
Dean Paul Caron, whose father was a police officer, and Commissioner Choi, who possesses 35 years' experience in law enforcement, freely exchanged ideas and compared officer training programs with a focus on improving mediation skills. Commissioner Choi expressed his sentiment that Straus and the Korean Police programs "..shared the same goals to improve the skills of officers and community relations." One of the highlights of the gathering was the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding by Dean Paul Caron and Commissioner JongMun Choi, establishing a partnership to train representatives from Korean law enforcement.
Ro Lee, Assistant Director for Professional Education and Externships at Straus stated, "Establishing a collaboration with the Korean National Police Agency is a great step toward equipping law enforcement, globally, with critical dispute resolution skills." Additional participants in the event included Chief ChangJin Shim, Senior Inspector Yoonsuk Choi, Senior Inspector DaeYong Kim, Inspector SungUk Kim, Superintendent General SeungYoung Yoon, and Consul YoungUk Lee from the Korean National Police Agency.