Tarleton associate professor of criminal justice Dr. James Vardalis joined Fort Worth Chief of Police Jeffrey Halstead in a special presentation to the Fort Worth city council, Oct. 9, to recognize the police department’s and university’s partnership in training a group of international students from the United Arab Emirates.

In brief remarks to the mayor and council members, Halstead introduced Tarleton graduate students from Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, who are studying at the university’s Southwest Metroplex Center and who have received training at the Fort Worth Police Department’s training facility.

“Tarleton State University and Dr. James Vardalis are valuable partners in our community, not only from the educational perspective but also from the criminal justice and international law enforcement practitioner perspective,” said Halstead. “As Fort Worth continues to grow economically and in diversity, it’s important to realize we really are an international destination for business and tourism. It only seems natural for Fort Worth to also be an international destination for law enforcement training and education as well.”

Currently, Tarleton has 15 graduate students from Abu Dhabi who are pursuing master’s degrees through the university’s criminal justice degree program in Fort Worth. In addition to their coursework, the students, who are full-time Abu Dhabi police officers, have benefited from interaction with the Fort Worth Police Department in areas such as crime prevention techniques. The students have also been exposed to the court system, domestic abuse centers, juvenile facilities, victims’ centers and other police training facilities.

“Thanks to Tarleton State University and Dr. Vardalis, we have had the distinct pleasure of interacting with law enforcement commanders from Abu Dhabi taking graduate courses at our police training facility, and we’ve experienced unprecedented cultural exchanges,” said Halstead. “As they continue their studies in American policing, we will continue to learn from them, their culture and police practices back in Abu Dhabi.”

As a token of the department’s appreciation, Halstead presented Vardalis and the international students with saddle bags from the police department’s mounted unit, a mounted unit cowboy hat and the city’s very own board game, “Fort Worthopoloy.”

“Two years ago, when we first met with the Abu Dhabi police officials about this endeavor of their officers coming here for their graduate studies, they wanted an American police experience,” said Vardalis. “We approached Chief Halstead and he welcomed the opportunity. You probably have one of the most professional police agencies in Texas and I appreciate working with them over the past two years.”

For more information about Tarleton’s criminal justice program, please visit http://www.tarleton.edu/criminaljustice/.