Leon Orcot (under_arrest) wrote in valarlogs, @ 2015-12-10 09:47:00 |
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Entry tags: | !complete, !partner thread, leon orcot, svetlana sergievskaya |
Who: Leon and Svetlana
What: Training
When: Recently (before Chris left)
Where: Police station
Warnings: Dealing with human trafficking and crime
Status: Parter Thread | Complete
Dealing with cases that involved human trafficking was always a headache. There was extra hoops to jump through - immigration, translators, all the extra paperwork. Not to mention the fear.
It was the fear that usually got Leon. All the other stuff, minus the extra paperwork, he could just push off to someone else and not worry about it. His job wasn’t immigration, it was catching murderers, and he couldn’t do that the only witness of a murder wouldn’t tell him the information he needed. And so he’d yelled at the poor girl, and now she was refusing to talk to any police officers, Leon had been reprimanded, and now he had to go through some stupid training.
Svetlana was used to the police station, she was used to many of them. Between the training sessions she did or consultations as well as victim advocacy, it was just a place she had come to know fairly well even if she only showed up on a professional basis now that Dick had transferred back to New York. It also meant that when she got called to do a training session and the reasoning why? She was a bit apprehensive. Not in the training itself, but when people were forced to go to them, they were often much more resistant and it was frustrating.
However, she would push through it because that was what she did. She hadn’t managed to navigate the much more closed off nature of Russian law enforcement and their increasing paranoia to be put off by resistant Americans who didn’t think they needed training because it went against the police culture.
So for now, it was going over techniques, statistics, everything she generally covered when she did these presentations.
Leon had enjoyed high school. He’d been on three varsity sports teams, had and had been relatively popular. He gotten average grades in his classes, but that was mostly because his friend Henry had kept him focused on all the boring stuff that Leon didn’t really care about learning.
And this was just like that. Stats and all the rest of the incredibly boring stuff that he’d learned in school. At least Svetlana was good-looking, and that did more to keep Leon’s focus than any of the material, though he still chewed the end of his pen throughout most of it, wishing it was a cigarette.
“Well, what the hell am I supposed to do if they refuse to tell me anything?” he asked after all the boring stuff. “At this rate some sick bastard is going to be wandering around the streets because people refuse to testify.”
And that was the crux of it. She understood, of course she did. Not only was there a police culture that was resistant to change, there were needs that were at odds with one another. Police and law enforcement needed answers and evidence. Victims needed support and to not feel like they were being exploited and at more risk. That their families were at risk if they spoke because they were being used as leverage.
Fear ran deep. Language barriers and forced isolation. It could take months or years to not only work through the trauma, but to build a case. She knew of plenty of cases which either fell apart or took years even with a handful of witnesses who were afraid to speak and so disappeared.
“Find ways to build your case without the testimony, use them as a starting point. It helps but it should not rely only on someone who has been through trauma and comes from places often where police are corrupt and cannot be trusted.” It was why these cases took years. Raids on places where people were being held. “You cannot force people to testify.”
Which often then led to them being criminalised themselves, which was absurd.
Building a case without witness testimony wasn’t easy. Without good, solid evidence, which they didn’t really have, it was nigh impossible. “If only I could,” Leon muttered to himself. His job would be a whole lot easier if witnesses always came forward.
“Alright, well, how do I fix this? She’s not talking because of me, but there’s gotta be a way to make her change her mind.” It was also entirely possible that someone else had gently persuaded her to not talk to the police and she was using Leon’s outburst as an excuse, but Leon didn’t want to believe that. It happened way too often that people were coerced out of a testimony, and if it was someone else’s influence then there really wasn’t anything Leon could do to fix it.
Svetlana was well aware that building cases was difficult. But she also knew that often times, victims of trafficking only knew certain people, they didn’t know who was in charge. Everything was compartmentalised, especially when organised crime was involved. But she also knew that if someone relied solely on witness testimony, that would fall apart by defence attorneys or intimidation.
But a question she could actually answer without wanting to hit her head on a wall. She could work with that.
“There may not be, nothing is certain. However, if you like, give me her information and I will see if I cannot find her and see what is going on.” Or find someone in her organisation who could depending on if there was a language barrier and they needed a translator. But as they did advocacy work, they tended to have a better grasp on talking to people who were scared, or picking up on the things that weren’t said.
After all. This wasn’t sensitivity training. Those sessions were more than a day session, they took weeks to go through the process and different techniques. Her contacts were with various police departments, otherwise she wouldn’t be here teaching this session in the first place.
Leon frowned. “Yeah, alright,” he said, after a moment’s hesitation. He was always hesitant to give out witness information, but Svetlana was working for the police department right now and he ought to trust her like he would anyone else who was working for the department. “I’ll have someone send you her information. Can you just make sure to mention that I was an ass and that I’m sorry?” Because he did kind of feel like an ass for yelling at the poor girl.
She was well familiar with the concern of handing over witness information. She was just wondering why an advocate hadn’t been called in the first place if there was a concern of trafficking. But really, there was no use fretting about that now. It was done and all they could do was move on and figure a way to try and get justice. Which of course meant figuring out if there was more to it than Leon yelling at the girl.
“Of course.”
“Maybe once you talk to her we can discuss it over dinner?” Leon added smoothly. Leon would probably have trouble pronouncing Svetlana’s name if he was pressed, but that didn't mean she wasn’t easy on the eyes, and it wasn't as though he and Peggy weren't exclusive.
Svetlana and dating was not a thing. There was her… whatever it was she had with Anatoly, complicated dream issues and then her own trust issues. Plus general cultural differences and her own work ethic. Which meant she completely missed that he was apparently trying to ask her on a date. Instead the blonde woman blinked.
“I suppose we could if that would be easier for you.” She didn’t really see what it couldn’t be done in an office or at the precinct but if he felt it was easier to do so over dinner, then that would work.
Leon broke into a grin at that. That had gone surprisingly well. Score one for Leon Orcot. “Great!” he said. “Well, I’ll just give you my number and you can give me a call whenever you’re ready to go out.”
He was seemingly far too happy about her agreeing to meet for dinner to discuss a case, but maybe he was just… really passionate about his job and since she was going to help? Svetlana was a good read on people but that didn’t mean she always picked up on certain social cues. This was one of those times. “Of course. I will let you know once I find her and whatever information I am able to get.”
“Great! I’ll look forward to hearing back from you!” he said cheerfully. The day had seemed like it was going to be a bust, but it had really turned itself around.
Well that certainly was the fastest turn around of a mood Svetlana had ever seen. Not that she would say anything on the matter. It was only one part of her day and there was still a handful of things she needed to get done. So instead, the Russian woman gave a slight nod.
“I will let you know when I have something.” With that, she had to conclude the the session in order to make her next appointment.