Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 5, Number 6, 1 June 1988 — China Exchange Program on Tap for Halawa Corrections Sergeant [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

China Exchange Program on Tap for Halawa Corrections Sergeant

By Deborah Lee Ward, Assistant Editor Ka Wai Ola O OHA A rare opportu"hity to participate in intercultural professional exchange faces Honolulu corrections Sergeant Fannie Kamakolunuiokalani Gilman, who will visit the People's Republic of China Aug. 13-28. She will represent Hawaii as an invited member of a U.S. delegation of the International Association of Women Poliee to participate in bilateral technical exchange with Chinese women counterparts in law enforcement. Sgt. Gilman is employed at the Halawa High Security Facility on O'ahu, where she has worked for nine years. In February she was the first female adult corrections officer to be promoted to the rank of sergeant. An active member of IAWP for over two years, she was invited to China because of her almost 15 years of dedicated professional law enforcement work. She has received praise from her supervisors at the Halawa facility for her leadership and quality work, and is well-respected by her peers. Gilman credits a liking for people, "resilience," a strong, positive attitude towards personal ehallenge, and a desire for self-improvement through education as being important sources of strength in her demanding career. The invitation to visit China was extended to IAWP by the Chinese Ministry of Public Security (MOPS). The law enforcement system in China was little known until a first-ever visit in 1985 by the International Association of Chiefs of Poliee. According to past IAWP president Lt. Carolen F. Bailey, the initial visit was "an overwhelming success and has served as a basis for continuing exchanges in forensic sciences, industrial security and law enforcement training." Bailey notes, "Since women play a significant - role in China's poliee force and perform many of the same assignments as men, the MOPS has extended this special invitation to us . . I know that we will be warmly received and that our visit will establish ongoing lines of communication between women officers in China and the United States." Onee in China, the IAWP delegation (expected to number about 25) will visit Beijing, Hohhot and Shanghai, and then Hong Kong. The MOPS will provide an overview of its work and arrange a series of meetings, information discussion sessions and field trips in eaeh city. MOPS has a wide scope of operations whieh includes administration of the country's law enforcement and firefighting agencies. Gilman and eaeh of the IAWP team members will participate either as a presenter, discussant, or a recorder. Cultural, social and sightseeing activities are also being planned.

The professional exchange program is part of the Citizen Ambassador Program, one of several activities of the People to People International. Since People to People is a voluntary citizen effort, delegates are responsible for their own expenses. The estimated tax-deductible cost per delegate or spouse is $4,270 (departing from and returning to Seattle). A two-day briefing in Seattle precedes her trip. When Sgt. Gilman returns she will report on her exchange program with fellow state Department of Corrections staff. Through her membership in IAWP and attendanee at conferences, Gilman continues her professional education through association with eolleagues from around the world. She has been a member for over two years and has attended annual conferences in Colorado and New York. In September, she plans to attend the 1988 IAWP annual conference in Georgia. Mrs. Gilman, the former Fannie K. Leong of Keaukaha, Hawaii, is a hanai daughter of Mary Kawena Pukui, and is a 1949 graduate of Hilo High School. She is married to Herman Kealoha Gilman, a fuel systems meehanie for the Kaneohe

Marine Corps Air Station. They have three grown sons and five daughters. While raising her family, Mrs. Gilman worked at a variety of sales and clerical jobs on Oahu. However, it was not until she went to work at the Hawaii Youth Correctional Facility at Windward Oahu in 1964 as what was then known as a "house parent", that her interest developed in corrections work. During the five and one-half years she worked there, she also attended the University of Hawaii part-time. In 1969 she took courses in poliee scienee at Honolulu Community College that began to lead her towards her career field. In 1970 she worked for the Honolulu Poliee Department, computerizing records. Then from 1971-1977 she worked part-time for the Department of Health, meanwhile, working as a store detective for major department stores. When her husband's work took the family to Salem, Ore., in 1977, she worked for several years as a security officer with the Oregon Department of General Accounting, directing traffic, writing traffic tickets and other duties. After they returned in 1979, she went to work at Halawa. Though her early college studies were interrupted by work, she plans to resume course work for a degree in criminal justice, starting this month with part-time classes at Windward Community College. The Gilmans are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Mormons), Kaneohe Ward. In her free time Gilman enjoys singing, playing the piano, reading, running, playing racquetball, judo and karate.

Sat. Fannie Gilman