News

Mike Morley and Ana Consuela Vazquez, two police officers from the Jelgava sister city of Carmel (USA) Police Department, are spending their last working day patrolling the city together with Jelgava municipality police officers. After two weeks of experience exchange in Jelgava, they admit: “In general, our work is not very different, there are only certain nuances. We were pleasantly surprised by the video surveillance center of the Jelgava Municipality police, where inspectors monitor what is happening in the city 24 hours a day. Yes, we also have video surveillance, but it is mainly focused on monitoring the movement of transport, while here it is one of the tools for ensuring public order.”

Carmel police officers are staying in our city for a two-week experience exchange after two of our municipal police officers gained similar experience in Carmel from August 11 to 29.

American colleagues admit that this was a great experience to get to know not only police work, but also Latvian culture, Jelgava and get an idea of ​​Latvia. “Every day was different and brought a new experience. The working principle is already one – to monitor order and safety in the city, to go to calls. The only difference is that in America we patrol one by one, and up to 15 policemen patrol the streets by car at the same time, but in Jelgava there are two or three people in one crew, but the number of law enforcement officers patrolling a day is smaller. A significant difference is also that the main task of your police is to ensure public order and security, because the rest is within the competence of the State Police, but our department in Carmel does everything – it is responsible for public order and investigates thefts, robberies, road traffic accidents,” he says. M. Morley, emphasizing that Jelgava police officers are well equipped.

Asked about the most interesting call they have experienced in recent weeks, the two American police officers recall an amusing incident in the hospital area. The residents called the police because a half-naked drunken resident kicked the cars parked on the side of the street in the hospital area. The police took the intoxicated man to the medical center. Both admit that it was useful to see the organizational work, how patrols go to calls. Also, American police officers had the opportunity to participate as observers in the anti-terrorist training “Mītava 2023” organized by the State Security Service in the territory of the Zemgale Olympic Center, in which representatives of operative services and other institutions tested their readiness to act in the event of a terrorist attack on public events. “It was a very interesting experience. We realized that the tactics in our training and yours are quite similar,” said M. Morley.

Both police officers appreciate Latvian food and the openness of Jelgava residents. “I was pleasantly surprised by the fact that the people of Jelgava know English very well and when they see us, they are happy to start a conversation,” adds Ana, noting that they also learned a few Latvian words themselves: good morning, good day, good evening and thank you.

Also, Carmel police officers appreciate the opportunity to get to know the city, Latvia and Latvian culture in their free time. “Ten stars for hockey. We had the opportunity not only to watch the HK “Zemgale/LBTU” game, but also I got on the skates twice on Wednesday evenings and took part in the training of the amateur team,” says M. Morley, who plays hockey in the USA every day, so he highly values ​​this opportunity.

During these two weeks, the American colleagues patrolled the city together with Jelgava municipality policemen, monitoring public order, and also went to calls, such as family conflicts, and took intoxicated persons to the medical emergency room. The policemen also took part in shooting lessons, patrolled together with the State Police crew for one day and went on a raid together with the Municipal Police of Jelgava region to control small-scale fishermen.

It should be noted that Jelgava Municipality police officers – head of department Alvis Ločmelis and inspector Vilnis Neiders – participated in the everyday work of the Carmel police for two weeks in August. They also participated in Police Department training, where they had the opportunity to participate in patrol work, learn to shoot with different types of weapons, use a taser and close combat techniques. They also attended K-9 training, which trains service dogs, participated in the City of Carmel’s Safety Day, went to the county jail, and were involved in other police-related activities.

The police officer exchange program is one of the initiatives of the cooperation program concluded between Jelgava and Carmel, which was developed by the Honorary Consul of Latvia in Indiana and the president of the Carmel twinning committee of Jelgava twin city Andris Bērziņš.

Carmel is a city in Indiana with more than 100,000 inhabitants, and it has become the thirteenth Jelgava twin city and the first twin city in the USA.