'Distinguished Student' Award Winner Hopes to Reform Corrupt Police Forces

As a former member of the police force in the Ukraine, SPP student Yuriy Gavryliuk has firsthand knowledge about his chosen field of study. But he also realizes that he still has a lot to learn about how to use policy to build a stronger police force.

That’s why the winner of the SPP Alumni Chapter’s 2004 Distinguished Student Award is relishing his time as a master’s student in the Peace Operations Policy Program (POPP). He is taking advantage of every available opportunity to learn about his chosen field.

This dedication to his studies makes it easy to see why Gavryliuk was chosen to win the Distinguished Student Award, which is based on professional and academic accomplishments and leadership skills.

When not in class, studying peace operations, public policy and criminal justice, he is attending POPP colloquiums, participating in peace simulation exercises or assisting faculty with projects.

But Gavryliuk says that he still has a lot to do before he feels like he has taken full advantage of what Mason has to offer. ”I am proud to be the first recipient of the Distinguished Student Award. It makes me even more motivated in extending my professional horizons,” he says.

Gavryliuk, a Muskie fellow who will graduate in May 2005, plans to use what he learns at SPP to help reform the Ukraine police force. “Police reform is one of the issues that deserves attention in any country,” he says. “The police have been vested with powers to apply force to citizens. This means they should also know how to use this power.” Gavryliuk adds that without proper training a poorly trained police force could lead any state into civil strife.

Gavryliuk is currently working on a paper called “Principles of Democratic Policy,” which will address some the policing issues he is exploring at Mason. “In general it will be related to priorities for policing. Like, should police be service oriented or just take care of law and order? Should the police be proactive or reactive?”

Gavryliuk says that he still has some research to do before he can address these concerns. “These are some tricky issues for which I don’t have answers yet,” he says. “…Without doing some more substantial research, I cannot say what will be the final outcome.”

In the meantime, he plans to donate the $300 award he received for being named a “distinguished” student to a children’s aid organization in the Ukraine.