“Fulbright Specialists are a wonderful way to strengthen the friendships between our country and other countries of the world. Being able to share this wealth of knowledge and people and our culture to other parts of the world is invaluable. Just to show people the humanity of the American soul, the intellectual exchange that can take place, and the openness that many Americans have towards other cultures - I think it’s crucial. ”
Dr. Alejandro (Alex) del Carmen is a faculty member and Associate Dean at Tarleton State University’s School of Criminology, Criminal Justice, and Public Administration. He has also served as a Fulbright Specialist, most recently at the Police Academy of the Czech Republic in May 2022. Through a series of lectures and roundtable discussions with policing professionals and academics, Alex supported his host institution’s goal to gain insight into policing practices via cross-cultural comparison.
A first-generation immigrant from Nicaragua, Alex lived through civil war as a child, and these experiences inform his passion for the field of Criminology and his perspective on cultural exchange. We recently sat down with Alex to learn more about his experience in the Czech Republic, and his plans to strengthen collaboration between the Police Academy of the Czech Republic and Tarleton State University.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
Tell me about you and your host institution’s goals for hosting you as a Fulbright Specialist, and some of your plans for the future?
Alex: Firstly, they wanted to discuss how [TSU and Police Academy] faculty members could work together on projects related to use of force, police stressors, deployment tactics, and various other areas. The second component was that we wanted to publish together. They recognize that they need to publish in American policing journals, so we are exploring the possibility of doing joint projects so we can co-author articles.
Thirdly, we have some of the same challenges and problems in the policing field. There are some European Union grants available, and at least one of them has already been submitted with our names on it. The idea is to capture some funding that would allow us to exchange faculty to provide mutual training and different perspectives.
“This collaboration is not only going to strengthen relationships, but also allow us to do some important and practical research in the next five to 10 years.”
What excites me about this is that the collaboration has both an academic component and a practical component. At Tarleton we believe in having the theoretical alongside the practical, so my hosts were pleased that they weren't simply getting an academic lecture about theory but that they could also talk to someone that’s been in a patrol car, that’s actually measured response times, that’s actually measured police stressors. So we believe that that this collaboration is not only going to strengthen relationships, but also allow us to do some important and practical research in the next five to 10 years.
Can you speak about what you learned while in the Czech Republic?
Alex: As soon as I arrived at the Academy, they were incredibly warm and welcoming and kept on reminding me how important it was for the United States and the Czech Republic to continue a friendship and partnership. I was very honored by that.
I didn’t show up with an attitude of “I know best, and I'm going to show you how we are better than you” but one of mutual exchange. I provided a U.S. perspective, and they provided a Czech perspective, and we both learned equally, I would argue, during my stay.
They were incredibly accommodating. I got a chance to see how they process crime scenes. I got a chance to see how they teach, because the organization is both a university and a police academy. They teach folks that are never going to end up in policing, but are simply interested in criminal justice, as well as individuals that are going to eventually become police officers.
It’s a mixture of both, and I thought that was a wonderful concept that the United States should be using, which is the idea that you essentially embark on a journey of not only teaching police tactics, but also teaching people a very important aspect of policing, which is how to understand if crime is going up or going down. How do you evaluate an area? How do you respond to crime adequately? What sort of training should people have? These are all things that my host is addressing.
What was a typical day like?
Alex speaks with one of his many classes at the Police Academy.
Alex: I would lecture two or three times during the day, and they provided an office where I could work. The afternoons were also busy, mostly talking to students and conducting lectures. It was a pretty packed schedule, but on weekends, I got a chance to see a bit of the city, to learn about the history, and I got to go to Pilsner, which is the city that George Patton came through during World War II. It was fascinating to see the American flags outside of small stores and Patton’s museum, and it gave me a thousand-yard view of the country’s history both during the Nazis and under a communist regime that made me a better instructor.
Is there any advice you would give a prospective Fulbright Specialist as they prepare for their project?
I think it's important to do your homework before you go. Not only for what sort of AC plug you'll need to charge your laptop, but also to find out more about the history. You may be in front of a castle or a home that was bombed during World War II or where a famous person lived, and I think it's important to understand that Europeans appreciate that we Americans make an effort to really understand their culture.
The best advice that I would give is this: a few weeks before, watch every movie and read every book you can that relates to major incidents of your host country. I subscribed to an English-language newspaper in Prague, and I would read the news about what was going on politically, socially, and environmentally. When I got there, I had a deeper appreciation for those things. Plus, I could have intelligent conversations with people about what was going on in their country. I think that's really important.
Secondly, be ready to answer questions about our country. A lot of times [people in your host country] see you as an American first and then as a Specialist in your field second, so they would ask questions like “What's going on with the crime in the United States?” or “What's going on with COVID in the U.S.?” In some cases, believe it or not, I was the first American that some people had ever met, and that's a huge responsibility because you're representing millions of people. All of us look and act differently in the U.S. but to them, you represent all of that.
Finally, make sure that you have a chance to stop halfway through your experience and pause and reflect on the things that you would like to work towards before you leave. You don't want to leave with regrets or missed opportunities and sometimes you're so busy you don't have time to stop and think.
“Be ready to answer questions about our country…. believe it or not, I was the first American that some people had ever met, and that’s a huge responsibility because you’re representing millions of people. All of us look and act differently in the U.S. but to them, you represent all of that.”
What was the most memorable or impactful part of your time in the Czech Republic?
During his Fulbright, Alex also had the opportunity to visit with refugees from Ukraine.
Alex: Prior to the trip, I asked if it was possible to visit with Ukrainian refugees, so I was able to go to the border between the Czech Republic and Poland. It was a very moving experience, as you can imagine. As a criminologist, I wanted to understand that experience of seeing a neighboring country invaded. Since I was once a refugee in the United States, it also felt important to provide a little bit of hope and feedback as to what they were enduring.
The other one was when I met with the head of the Police Academy and I had a chance to talk about some of our partnerships going forward. We’re going to create a mutual understanding agreement between both institutions that will allow us to partner together and help each other out.
How do you think Fulbright has impacted or will impact how you approach your work here in the U.S.?
Alex: By always looking at the other side. You know, we academics are trained to have multi-dimensional perspectives on topics, but understanding the other viewpoint intellectually is not enough. What Fulbright has taught me is that you need to also understand that person’s perspective, that person’s humanity. I learned a lot, and it really taught me that I’m still a student.
I think Fulbright Specialists are a wonderful way to strengthen the friendships between our country and other countries of the world. Being able to share this wealth of knowledge and people and our culture to other parts of the world is invaluable. Just to show people the humanity of the American soul, the intellectual exchange that can take place, and the openness that many Americans have towards other cultures. I think it’s crucial.
As someone that was born overseas and became an American by choice and not by birth, I will tell you that I cannot wait to apply again, whether as a Specialist or perhaps as a Fulbright U.S. Scholar. I cannot wait to give back and to learn more.
“What Fulbright has taught me is that you need to also understand that person’s perspective, that person’s humanity. I learned a lot, and it really taught me that I’m still a student.”