The Fulbright Program is one of the world’s most recognized and prestigious award programs serving over 100 countries. The program is sponsored by the United States Department of State, administered by CIES and promotes learning, leadership and cultural understanding between nations. It is intended for scholars, students and professionals interested in research, teaching or advanced study in a particular country and/or field.

I am proud to have had the wonderful privilege to have been awarded a Fulbright Fellowship in Professional Police Studies where I traveled to the United Kingdom. During my research and travels I was able to work with the London Metropolitan Police and study at the International Centre for Police Studies at the University of Exeter. Observations and training with the national police in the Netherlands, Ireland, Belgium, France and Spain were integral parts of my fellowship.

There are a very small number of veteran police professionals who have experienced world travel as part of the Fulbright Program and one of those is Dr. Pascarella. As I was writing this blog note I asked Dr. Joe Pascarella to share a few comments about his Fulbright experience in Finland and he provided these comments:

“My experience in Finland as a Fulbright Scholar was one of the best experiences for both myself and my family. We truly enjoyed the immersion into another culture, which included my daughter attending a public school in Finland. My duties there consisted of instructing two courses to graduate students at the National Police College of Finland, conducting research, and I also had the pleasure of lecturing at a local high school and visited and lectured the Police Academy in Turku, Finland several times. I will never forget the interaction with the students (mostly midlevel and ranking police officers of the Finnish National Police, or “Suomeski Poliisi”) and faculty members and the exchange of ideas. I will also never forget the dedication, professionalism, and integrity of the Finnish police officers.”

I also wouldn’t trade my experiences as a Fulbright Fellow and encourage anyone interested to investigate the breath of programs available in a variety of disciplines and countries. Please visit the CIES web site to learn about the Professional Policing Fellowship and the other award programs available around the world.

Take care,
Charles

What does this mean for Public Safety? On the enforcement issue, this actually makes the job of detecting terror cells and apprehending terrorists that much more difficult when terror cells are interwoven into the functioning core of society, sometimes referred to as “homegrown” terrorists. On the macro level, it is somewhat alarming that these productive members would harbor this much hatred for a society that they have contributed so much to. Have we underestimated the threat? Unfortunately, this is impossible to gauge given the expansive and contracting nature of contemporary terror cells.

As the investigation continues, perhaps we can learn the reasoning of these seven individuals to better understand the threat at hand.

Have a safe Fourth of July and take care.

Joseph Pascarella