PROFESSIONALS' JOURNEYS OPEN EYES TO NEW VISTAS ROTARY SPONSORS EXCHANGE TRIPS.

Byline: Dominic Berbeo Staff Writer

Glendale police spokesman Sgt. Rick Young says that traveling to a remote police station in southern India on an exchange program for professionals in 1998 was like traveling through time.

A Rotary International exchange program that has been sending San Fernando Valley-area professionals abroad since 1965 sponsored his trip, and is now looking for four others to send to Italy this summer.

``It was an eye-opening experience both for me and the police in Bangalore,'' Young said. ``I took our technology and methodology for granted, and they weren't aware of half the stuff available out there.''

As part of the five-week program, Young toured India's Bangalore district and spent nine days meeting and offering ideas to police constables, top brass and civilian commissioners.

The equipment and methods used there seemed as if they were from the early 1900s, he said, and officials were glad to receive training materials and tips he brought from the force in Glendale.

``They didn't have a single computer, their handcuffs were like some we have on display as relics, and the few cars they had were old, donated Jeeps,'' Young said. ``When I told them we read people their (Miranda) rights when we arrest them, they asked me, 'How do you get them to tell you anything if you read them their rights?' ''

As a result of the trip, he said, Bangalore officials said they would look into updating their training methods and acquiring new equipment.

The Rotary International program that sent Young to India with a group of five professionals in other fields is intended to promote good will between nations, said John D. Alexander, coordinator of this year's trip.

Others from the Valley who have traveled include fire officials, engineers, bankers, real estate executives and university professors, he said.

``The idea is to have people learn about each other's culture and how their counterparts work,'' Alexander said.

William Baptist, a general contractor from Arleta, traveled in 1996 to Sao Paulo, Brazil, through the program.

He was impressed by the manual skills employed by construction workers in the absence of machinery such as concrete pumps to take wet concrete to the upper floors of building sites.

``It was amazing how they managed,'' he said. Baptist said he made at least 30 new friends on the trip and acquired an appreciation for Brazilian food and culture.

This year's exchange will send four Valley residents to Italy in exchange for four Italians.

Rotary District 5260 is accepting applications, which are due this week, for professionals interested in this April's all-expense paid trip to Italy, Alexander said.

To qualify, applicants must live in the San Fernando Valley, Santa Clarita Valley, Antelope Valley or the Owens Valley, be between 25 and 40 years of age, and be employed in their profession for at least two years.

For an application or more information, contact Alexander at [phone].

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Photo:

(1 -- 2) Sgt. Rick Young of Glendale, above, learned the difficulties faced by police in India during a 1998 Rotary-sponsored trip to Bangalore, right.

Hans Gutknecht/Staff Photographer