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INSIDE  President's Message  Ukrainian Law Enforcement Students  Criminal Tattooing  Internet  Membership  Police News from Ukraine           President's Message:  I would like to first wish all of you a happy new year. Even though we had some trouble producing a newsletter for the better part of 1997, we did accomplish some good work trough the year. We hosted a group of law enforcement students from Ukraine, had information tables set up at various Ukrainian gatherings but most important, we reached out to the Ukrainian community. One of our goals has been to work with the Ukrainian community in assisting them with problems and being an information source for them, not only to the new comers but the already established. We conducted a burglary prevention/safety seminar this fall in the Ukrainian village neighborhood of Chicago. Those attending had the opportunity to discuss crime in their area and what they could do to lessen their chances of being victimized. I believe that this type of service to our people is very important. Not only will it change many attitudes about the police but it will inspire young Ukrainian Americans to look at law enforcement as a career. I encourage all our members to consider providing such seminars to their Ukrainian communities. If you need some assistance in starting one, contact the association and we will be glad to help you as we can. This year we hope to accomplish the following: continue building our relationship with Ukrainian Law Enforcement. continue our informational seminars to the community. get on the information highway ie: the Internet  reach out to other agencies doing work with law enforcement in Ukraine. With your continued support, we can continue building our association and accomplishing the impossible. I would like to thank all those that assisted us this past year with our projects.  Michael Shep, Evanston Police   Ukrainian Law Enforcement Students:  For two days in August of 1997, we hosted a group of twelve law enforcement students from the Lviv Police Academy. These students came to the United States through a program sponsored by Michigan State University and project harmony, a not for profit cultural organization. They spent two weeks in Michigan visiting various law enforcement agencies, court houses and hearing lectures on American policing. They were hosted by local law enforcement officers and their families. After a grueling two weeks, they came down to Chicago and spent two days with us. The first evening here, we took them to Navy Pier where we met the Chicago Police Marine Unit boat and toured the beautiful Chicago shoreline. We even responded to a call for assistance for a boater who lost power and was bouncing off the break water. The weather was beautiful as was the lighted up skyline of the city. From a few miles out, it sure was a pretty site. The next day, they had the opportunity to tour Chicago's brand new 911 center, with all its high tech computer equipment they were quite amazed at the information that could be obtained. From there we went to the Chicago Police Academy and toured that facility. After lunch, we went to the Cook County Jail and toured that "wonderful" place. Being everybody was law enforcement, they showed us places that normal citizens rarely if ever get to see. That evening, we had a gathering at Zaks place where everyone got their fill of pizza and beer. They heard and saw a lot in the short time they were here, and we hope they remember some of it when they "hit the streets" as police officers.    Criminal Tattooing:  It is no secret that many criminals tatoo themselves while in prison. These tatoos many times indicate what type of crime the person committed, ie: murder, rape, assassination. This is especially true with inmates of foreign prisons. We requested some information about tattooing in Ukraine and its prisons. We received a letter from the ministry indicating that they were in the process of updating their information but did send us a booklet with diagrams and descriptions. Unfortunatley this book was written in Russian and will need to be translated before we can get the information out to you. We hope to have this accomplished in the near future.

 

Internet:  Hold on to your hats everyone, I'm here to tell you that by the time you receive this newsletter, the Ukrainian American Police Association should be on the information highway. Through the gratiousness of Casa Samo Pomich (Self Reliance) we can be found on the net. They had room on their server ( I believe thats what it's called) and we jumped at the chance. We hope to keep this site with up to date information. If you have any ideas for the type of information we can provide then please let me know. The address of our site is: www.ukrainianchicago.com   We hope to make this site an attractive one that many people can visit and learn about us.        Membership  At our last board meeting, we decided that those members who have not paid for over a year will be taken off our rolls and mailing lists. We hope that all of you will re-new your membership and become active members. Please take the time and fill out the membership form on the back on this newsletter.

 

Police News from Ukraine:  This information was obtained from an internet site dealing with Ukrainian Crime ( Police Blotter).  Kyiv 12/97 ---The national bureau of investigations director Vasyl Durdynets, who is also the coordinator of the committee fighting against corruption and organized crime, indicated on December 29, that the crime rate is increasing; 12 people a day die at the hands of criminals; 120 people have died due to contract killings in 1997. The most alarming situation is in Dnipropetrovsk, Donetsk, Lviv, Kharkiv and Luhansk regions as well as the Crimea and Kyiv, where 62% of the crimes have been registered. Crime detection is at 30% . Organized crime is increasing primarily in the drug, arms trade and the sale of children and women. The Kyiv internal affairs chief Kornijenko indicated that the Kyiv militia counted over 300 crimes committed by organized crime leaders. The well known crime leader "Facist" ( his pseudoym) and 10 of his accomplises were arrested. The chief pointed out that the mentioned leader has strong political protection that are applying pressure on law enforcement agencies. The group, led by facist has transferred millions of dollars across the border.  Kyiv ---Numerous prostitution rings exist in Ukraine. One can arrange a meeting through dating services or they can be made believe it or not in hair salons that serve as cover. Every ring has a Krysha (racket cover) that assures the rings security. An article stated that in many cases it is the Militia itself that serve as Krysha's.  Luhansk--- Operation arms has been completed by the local security forces of Luhansk oblast. The operation confiscated over 770 guns, 15,500 rounds of ammunition, 4.5 kilograms of explosives and 10 bomb making devices.  Ukraine--- There are over 26,000 people identified with HIV. Most (97%) are drug users. Since 1995, there has been a 140% increase.  Kyiv --- SBU prevented a bloodbath between two crime groups in early December. They discovered a beige automobile with a lot of money, 4 automatic kalashnikov's, an Uzi and four pistols with over 300 rounds of ammunition, two grenades and four black masks. They arrested some individuals from the gang groups.  Zaporizhja--- Eleven (11) kilograms of radioactive mercury was confiscated from a subject who had planned to sell it in the west.....  Iziaslavskij region--- A person was found with three bullet holes in his head. He was a teacher from Ivano-Frankivsk, the bullets came from a militia type Makarov. Supposedly, the man was stopped for a violation, he paid his fine and when the inspector saw the man had more money, he shot him. Indications are that earlier deaths in the area occurred in the same manner.  Volyn--- A well known artist Oleksander Valenty was killed ruthlessly. The artists was initially tortured, knifed and then his neck was twisted. The militia are investigating.  Kyiv--- Over 6,000 killings this past year and only 1 in 4 solved. In Odessa, over 6 well known figures have been killed in almost the same manner that being the kalashnikov was left behind. No other clues have been uncovered other than the obvious' the kalashnikov. This year there were 1042 organized crime killings whereas in 1996 there were only 884.  Kyivska Oblast--- There were over 100 fires during the month of December, resulting in 12 deaths. During the year, there were over 1,466 fires resulting in 108 deaths... There were 136 traffic fatalities on the streets of Kyiv during 1997.