Media about the Ministry of Internal Affairs: How British detectives train Ukrainian police to document war crimes

27.03.2024 10:05

Ukraine has invited two of Britain's top detectives to train police investigating war crimes — including torture, mass murder and child abduction by the Russians.

Officers investigating Britain's most high-profile cases say they have been impressed by the resilience of Ukrainians.

This is stated in the material of The Telegraph.

“Nothing I have achieved in my police career compares to what these people achieve,” says Dai Malin, former head of the North Yorkshire and Cleveland Special Crimes Unit, awarded the Royal Police Medal for his role in the murder investigation, terrorism, sexual assaults and kidnappings.

The material notes that this is the first time that the UK has conducted such training for the Ukrainian police.

Two young Ukrainian policemen they were training were seriously injured and two of their colleagues were killed by Russian shelling just days after former senior detective Malin and his colleague, former senior investigating officer Fraser Wylie, returned to the UK.

“These two young people were especially prominent in the group, and I became particularly attached to them,” said Mr. Malin, 57. “It devastated me. It's on my mind all the time. I tell everyone I talk to — friends, family — about what they've been through. My wife made teddy bears and sent them to young children. It's just a small gesture, but I feel helpless because we can't do more for them. They are almost trapped in this war. To be honest, it all doesn't fit in my head.”

Last month, two British officers were sent to train 20 young Ukrainian police investigators in response to a request from Ukraine to the Police College, the UK's main police standards body. Traditionally, he offered courses for British subjects and countries associated with the UK, but he had never conducted training for Ukraine before.

Thus, in two weeks, British detectives provided Ukrainian investigators with proven British models of police activities to collect evidence, protect crime scenes, obtain the best results during the interrogation of witnesses and victims, and create as much substantiated cases as possible for the International Criminal Court.

These two detectives were chosen because of their combined more than 50 years of experience in the police. Mr Malin led the investigation into Ms Lawrence's disappearance and the case of Nicola Bulley, who disappeared near a river in Lancashire while walking her dog.

Mr Wylie, 54, successfully investigated the murder of children's writer Helen Bailey, whose remains were found at her home in Hertfordshire. Her partner Jan Stewart was charged with her murder and found guilty in February 2017, as well as, later, of the murder of his first wife Diane.

The war has always remained with Ukrainian police officers, even though the training took place in Poland.

At all times, they kept cell phones with them to monitor alerts about air alarms and attacks at home. At times, when the alarm went off, they had to give lectures to check if their families were safe after the next Russian attacks.