Distinguished Lecture Series: Jacques Klein "Comparing Police in Luxembourg and in the USA" Preview:

1. Tell us a little bit about your career path and what your job is today.
I am retired since last year, since July. I joined the Luxembourgish Gendarmerie police forces in 1986 and for the first two years I studied at the Royal Military Academy in Brussels, Belgium. After that I worked for two years in the Liège which is in Belgium as well, at the university, and I graduated with a Master in Criminology from 1988 to 1990. And then from 1990 to 1991, I had a postgraduate study in France at their National Police Academy. From 1991 to 1995 I was Officer Lieutenant in the Luxembourgish police and I was responsible for two local police districts. And then from 1995 to 1999 I changed-- there I was responsible for the south district and for the Luxembourg district, which included the airport. I worked from 2001 to 2008 as the Director of the police academy and from 2008 to 2010, for the Strategic Development Department of the police and then my last work was from 2010 to last year-- Director of Finance and Logistics.

2. Why did you choose your job position/career path?
The career path itself is more or less-- this is coincidence. After college and before I joined the police, I studied mathematics at university and then I decided that the police is something where you can deal with people and where you can try to improve the situation in Luxembourg and this was something that seemed to me to be interesting. Therefore I said I don’t want to continue in mathematics where it’s more theoretical and I want to have something where I can work with people and try to improve the situation, which is also improving the community in Luxembourg.

3.  How did you choose the topic for your lecture?
It’s more form a philosophical point of view. In 2001, I got this very big opportunity from the United States government to be on the exchange program which is called the International Visitors Program in the United States and so I traveled for three weeks in the United States. I got into contact with a lot of-- responsible for airports and the police academies and it was a couple of weeks after this, it was in 2002, it was a couple of weeks after this horrible attack on the World Trade Center and so I had the opportunity to see what are the American-- the United States’ response and the United States organization’s and law enforcement agencies. I know how the police forces are organized in Europe as I started in France, Belgium, I know how it is in Luxembourg. I had contacts through Germany. I was sharing at different moments things in Europe and the European Union and so now my concern is a little bit, as I’m retired is doing police forces and if we need for these forces, how our different states organized, how are the law enforcement agencies organized in different states. Where are the good points and the bad points in different states. The idea that I have is to present, to my knowledge, how it works in Europe, how it works in the United States and to see what can be lessons to learn from different countries and that’s what I want to share with the students at Miami University.

4. What inspires you?
What inspires me is, in general, what people are thinking and exchanging experiences and talk with people. This is very important for me to exchange ideas and to learn from others. Which brings me forward, I hear the experiences, the lessons that others have had and so that is something that is important to me and that’s also a little bit why I thought mathematics is not inspiring enough. The technique that you learn when you study mathematics is interesting. You have a logic of sorts, but it’s more for me inspiring to hear what other people think, to hear what other people have experienced  and then to share experiences to bring us further. That’s what inspires me most.

5. If you could redesign the food pyramid without any dire health consequences, what would it look like?
So that’s definitely cupcakes. Cupcakes and a beer. When you eat cupcakes, then you drink a beer with it and on the second level is a burger with french fries. Definitely on the basis of this pyramid I would mention vegan food.

1. Tell us a little bit about your position on the SFC.

My role on the SFC as Ombudsman and Environment Chair actually gives me the unique ability to have two distinct roles on the Council, and I'm really excited to dip my toes into both arenas. As Ombudsman, my general focus is being the primary liaison between the Student Body and the Faculty and Staff here at MUDEC. I am also very excited to take on the role of Environment Chair this semester. The goal of this position is to help MUDEC in its interactions with our physical environment here in Differdange and Luxembourg, as well as work to leave the smallest footprint possible. One of my primary focuses will be continuing a Food Waste Data Collection project to determine what steps we can take to limit the food waste we produce.

2. Why did you want to be the Ombudsman and Environment Chair?
When I saw this position as an option, I knew it would be a natural fit for me. As someone who loves spending time outdoors and is very concerned with the current climate crisis, being able to organize outdoor activities and keep MUDEC sustainable was an amazing opportunity I couldn't turn down.

3. What are you most looking forward to as Ombudsman and Environment Chair?

I hate to sound repetitive but creating ways for MUDEC to interact positively with our environment here in Luxembourg is really exciting for me! Whether it's using our park for some outdoor games, or hiking Differdange's impressive trail network, or working to mitigate the environmental impact of our food waste; I'm ready to help unlock all that Luxembourg has to offer.

4. Why did you choose to study abroad with MUDEC?

Once I found out about the MUDEC Program on my first visit to Miami in February of 2017, coming to Luxembourg was a no-brainer for me, so this trip has been almost two years in the making. I visited Europe (England and Switzerland) with my family in the Summer of 2016, and have wanted to return ever since. The history and infrastructure of the program made studying abroad so accessible, and you can't argue with the location in the heart of Western Europe. 

5. What is a fun fact that most people do not know about you?
While this is only my second time abroad, I am no stranger to traveling as I have been to 29 States and 15 National Parks back in the US. 

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