Canada asked to help train new Ukrainian cops

OTTAWA – Ukraine’s newly appointed chief of the national police is asking Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government for more help in establishing and training a professional security force.

Khatia Dekanoidze made the pitch to both RCMP Commissioner Bob Paulson and Foreign Affairs Minister Stephane Dion in separate meetings over the last two days.

The creation of a trusted, national policing agency in the war-torn former Soviet country, formally enacted on Nov. 7, has become a major priority for President Petro Poroshenko’s government, which is battling to clean up corruption within government and political institutions.

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Dekanoidze, who also visited Washington with a request for further U.S. assistance, says Ukraine is at a critical juncture and must choose between good and evil.

The RCMP already has a limited presence advising the country’s Interior Ministry on security sector reform and training the reformed traffic police service, which was considered one of the most dubious agencies under the old regime of former president Viktor Yanukovych.

Prior to its re-establishment last summer, ordinary people generally avoided traffic cops; they had no confidence when they laid a complaint, and were sometimes hit up for bribes.

Dekanoidze has asked for more Canadian police to mentor the new force, and also wants experienced officers to train criminal investigators.

Canada is also providing technical assistance. On Thursday in Kyiv, the Canadian ambassador, Roman Waschuk, was scheduled to deliver several thousand uniforms and cameras for the patrol police.