As Jutarnji list/SD writes, for the first time this summer season, a police officer from the United States was placed to work temporarily here in Croatia. 30-year-old Jacob Bradley, an American policeman working in Split has been participating in international police cooperation as part of the “Safe Tourist Destination 2022” project.
Jacob has been a police officer for the past eleven years across the pond in America, and during his time he has worked in the migration and drugs department, as well as with the local community, according to a report from Slobodna Dalmacija. In addition to gaining more work experience by coming here, his comparison of police work here in Croatia compared to the USA was particularly interesting.
”Here it’s completely different. When I’m patrolling, I don’t have a weapon, I don’t need it at all. In America, I don’t go out in public without a bulletproof vest and a weapon on me. Here I just talk to people, they shake hands with us, and people are generally really happy to see us. Over in America, we deal with more violence and armed conflicts, and here I haven’t even heard of such a thing, let alone participated in such an intervention,” admitted Jacob. Participating in the arrest of a person in Croatia also left a special impression on him.
”Here the police say to someone: ‘You need to come with us’ and he goes without any resistance. Of course, that doesn’t happen with absolutely everyone, but just looking at such a situation was incredible for me. This is a very safe place, one of the places I’d definitely visit with my family,” the American policeman working in Split said with a smile. He will spend a total of two weeks in the City of Split. He has primarily been helping break down the language barrier between visitors from America and the local population or the police.
”It is however much easier for me to talk to Americans and I very quickly come to a solution to whatever the problem might be and we reach an understanding of what led to it. We’re here to be there, to promote the fact that we’re here and that Split is a great place to visit. There were several interventions, and the cause of some of them was just a misunderstanding,” said the police officer from the USA, emphasising that he enjoyed his time spent here and plans to return next year.
The representative of the US Embassy, Amy Davison, emphasised that they are very pleased to have become part of the programme that has been going on for seventeen years now.
”Our participation this year is a continuation of 30 years of cooperation with this country, so this is a very nice way to crown such an anniversary. Jacob told me that he learned a lot here, that’s why this experience is valuable for him and we’re extremely glad that this cooperation has come about,” said Davison, adding that the American police officer is grateful for the welcome he had and that he was very well received. Jacob can safely say that Split is his absolute favourite city in all of Croatia.
In addition to this American policeman working in Split, t’s worth noting that there are currently 20 officers from ten different countries of the world working on the territory of the Split-Dalmatia County police department at this moment in time, writes Slobodna Dalmacija.
”For us, all their previous experiences are a confirmation that the project is well thought out and that it will be realised this year as well, in a way that gives us the optimum utilisation of what we have planned. They help us build, confirm and maintain the image of Croatia as a safe destination, and this is exactly the goal of this project,” concluded Slobodan Marendic, head of the Split-Dalmatia police department.
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