Police officers from Somerset County and Taiwan meet, learn from each other

SOMERVILLE, N.J. (PIX11) – They are heroes of communities nearly 8,000 miles away: Cops, prosecutors and service members serving the citizens of Taiwan.

“It’s our honor to visit New Jersey,” said Hsiao-Cheng Hsu, a crime scene investigator for the Taipei City Police Department. “It’s a challenging job. Every time I go to the crime scene, I collect the evidence and send it to the laboratory … I’m so into the evidence science and I want to crack the cases. I’m a big fan of CSI.”

He’s been on the job for eight years and always looking to get better. It’s one reason he and a delegation of officers from Taiwan came to New Jersey to visit the Somerset County Sheriff’s Office.

“I look at the population of the county, we have a very large Asian population,” said Sheriff Darrin Russo. “We just started reaching out and trying meet different agencies across the country, then across the oceans.”

The visit is made possible in part by the New Jersey Asian American Law Enforcement Officers Association.

The goal of the visit was for each agency to take away something from the other.

After drug detection demos by the Somerset County Sheriff’s K-9 unit, the officers toured the county jail, courthouse and 911 center, learning along the way.

“Our best practices, how the sheriff works with the community, how they work together with law enforcement and the prosecutor’s office,” said County Commissioner Director Shanel Y. Robinson.

“It doesn’t matter if it’s right here in Somerset County or over in Taiwan, we both have the same common goals to protect and having a safe community, said County Commissioner Deputy Director Sara Sooy.

The delegation walked away impressed with the level of training, tech and security officers have here. Before they head home to protect and serve, they’ve learned how Jersey does the same.

“It’s an honor to serve people in Taiwan,” said Hsu.

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