Chinese police interns may have lasting impact

Eight Chinese police officer interns who recently spent four days with League City police left quite an impression on Police Chief Mike Jez.
The Zhejiang Police College students visited Jan. 6-10 to learn more about community policing. They are doing a one-year internship at Sam Houston State University.
It was outstanding," Jez said of the experience. It was beneficial for both sides. They were no doubt the cream of the crop Chinese national police; otherwise they would not have been selected to come to the United States for their internship. These people will probably end up as future policymakers in what is definitely a critical function of government."
The visit by the Chinese police officer interns went so well that others might start visiting the police department annually, Jez said. League City police officers may also visit China, he said.
"It was a great experience," Jez said.
While visiting, the interns lived with League City police officers and their families. They received a tour of the Galveston County Justice Center, spent time in the city's jail and dispatch, participated in firearms training, and went on ride-alongs with officers.
A video about their experience can be viewed here.
It was a complete immersion that allowed both professional and personal ideologies," Jez said. I can't help but think that those folks are going to go back to China and have favorable images of the United States and the American model of policing. It was a fabulous intercultural experience. I think they learned from it and our police officers learned that we're probably more alike than we are different even though they have a completely different kind of government. But when you break it down to the human level, it's all pretty similar."