Worcester County sheriff goes to China

Chinese police to visit Glodis’ office to see methods used in corrections

By Owen Boss

WORCESTER — As the Olympic torch travels across the world, protests have been seen in almost every country it visits because of a recent call globally against alleged human rights violations in China. While protesting is one way to get the message out to the public, Dr. Stephen Chao, director of the Worcester State College International Affairs Office said he has a different method. In collaboration with Worcester County Sheriff Guy Glodis, who recently returned from a tour of the facilities in China, he has arranged for Chinese police officials to travel to the United States to train at the Worcester County Jail and House of Corrections. According to Mr. Glodis, the international exchange aims to improve human rights in China by introducing the officers to the many post-incarceration programs available to American prisoners that do not exist in China. The program was founded when Dr. Chao organized a visit for Chinese police officials to the Worcester County Sheriff’s Office in October 2007. According to Dr. Chao, officials were extremely impressed with the security format, professionalism, and inmate rehabilitation programs at the jail. Because of the success of the original visit, Mr. Glodis recently went on his own tour in China, and visited various correctional and academic institutions. Upon returning from the visit, he announced an innovative new information sharing partnership with Chinese public safety officials. The collaborative agreement, signed during the trip by Sheriff Glodis and the President of Zhejiang Police Vocational Academy Huang Xingrui, will allow Chinese prison officials to be trained at the Worcester jail in prison reform and security issues. Dr. Chao said the marred human rights record in China was one of the reasons for the program. “That’s exactly why I got involved,” said Dr. Chao. “One way to let the officials learn from the United States is to have them come here and see the facilities. We’re training and educating tomorrow’s leaders in China, with the hope that these officials will one day be our allies.” He added, “Protesting is one way to raise awareness; a more effective way is to collaborate with the sheriff’s department, and this is how we are going about it.” According to Mr. Glodis, the exchange is particularly important for the Worcester county department. “The new partnership between both academies and departments highlights the Worcester county sheriff’s office, not only as a national model, but also an international model of penal reform and professionalism,” Mr. Glodis said. In addition, the exchange will also benefit the Worcester department because it will be a lucrative endeavor, according to the sheriff. “This is a revenue-producing agreement as the Zhejiang police academy will pay approximately $100 per officer per day to be trained at the Worcester County Jail and House of Correction,” Mr. Glodis said. Reflecting on the departments’ similarities, Mr. Glodis said the two departments face the same problems within correctional facilities. “There are philosophical and economic differences between China and the United States, but there is one common denominator, and that is public safety,” said Mr. Glodis. “Through my trip it was evident that it was clearly an issue in China as it is in America.” The Worcester department is particularly proud of their involvement in the exchange because it is the first of its kind. ”We were the first to share policies, ideas and training,” Mr. Glodis said. “And we learned that there are some things that the Chinese do better than the United States and there are some things that Americans do better than the Chinese.” Mr. Glodis was very impressed with the level of discipline that Chinese prisons imposed. “What stood out for me in China was the discipline of the Chinese inmates,” Mr. Glodis said. “Their jails are run in a paramilitary format. The inmates would salute officers, and would only speak when spoken to. There was no downtime for inmates. They feel as though downtime is destructive. They can train vocationally, they can work as carpenters, and even work with high-end electronics.” The Chinese visitors were eager to learn about our post-incarceration programs, which are used to reintroduce prisoners back into society, said Mr. Glodis. “They were impressed with our halfway homes,” Mr. Glodis said. “They have no post-incarceration programs in China, when they are out, they are out.” During his visit to China, Mr. Glodis toured facilities, attended public safety conferences, and served as the keynote speaker at the Zhejiang police academy. He was able to meet with several government officials from Beijing, as well as local law enforcement and corrections leaders. The signed agreement between Mr. Glodis and Mr. Xingrui calls for a staff member exchange, short-term academic corrections and criminal justice coursework, professional training, and exchange of agency reference materials. The chance for Chinese officials to see modern prison practices is an invaluable learning opportunity, said Dr. Chao. “The phenomenon for these officials was the effort expended toward educating the inmates,” said Dr. Chao. “Not only were these officials here for leadership training, but they were also touring local facilities and being introduced to the modern technologies available in the United States.” oboss@thegardnernews.com

Appeared on Page 1 on 4/11/2008 (Vol. 206 No. 87)