NYPD visit Pakistan foster stronger relations between the police and the communities
Islamabad – Two New York City Police Department (NYPD) officers arrived in Pakistan on October 25 for an eight-day visit to exchange knowledge with Pakistani law enforcement professionals about concrete ways to foster positive and productive relations between the police and the communities they serve.
Lieutenant Adeel Rana and Detective Elvis Vukelj from NYPD’s Community Affairs Bureau laid a wreath at the Pakistan National Police Martyrs’ Memorial and spoke at an International Criminal Investigative Training Assistance Program course sponsored by the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad on their first day of the visit.
“As a Pakistani-American, I am excited to be back in Pakistan and to meet with local police officers to share ideas and experiences relating to community policing,” said Rana, who is also the president of the Muslim Officers Society. “Interactive community participation helps all of us address crime proactively.”
During their visit, which has been funded by the U.S. government, Officer Rana and Vukelj will meet with other law enforcement counterparts and interact with youth through discussions and sports.
NYPD Officers, Pakistani Police, and Youth Build Rapport through Cricket
“I have found that sports are a valuable tool for police to break down barriers and develop lasting ties with their communities,” Vukelj said.
On Wednesday (Oct. 28), representatives from the NYPD, Pakistani police, Pakistan Cricket Board, and local youth groups participated in a youth cricket skills camp yesterday at Said Pur Cricket Ground to help build a stronger relationship between police officers and their community.
More than one hundred students and police then completed cricket drills together, prior to a 10-on-10 match between the police and youth.
“This cricket camp helped show the youth participants that police officers aren’t outsiders to be feared, but community members who are here to support them,” NYPD Detective Elvis Vukelj said. “These types of sports activities can help both American and Pakistani police to engage constructively with our communities.”
U.S. Embassy Charge d’Affaires Jonathan Pratt, speaking on the occasion, said, “in Pakistan and the United States, young people bear the promise of the future, the police are an integral part of ensuring that we all have the security necessary to work toward that future, and sports unite us across social, economic, and political barriers.”
American and Pakistani law enforcement professionals learn to foster positive ties between the police and the communities they serve
The ongoing visit of officers from the NYPD Community Affairs Bureau is an opportunity for American and Pakistani law enforcement professionals to exchange knowledge about concrete ways to foster positive ties between the police and the communities they serve. As interactive community participation is the only way both the Pakistani police and their NYPD counterparts can improve their overall ability to address crime proactively.
Sports programs are a core component of achieving this objective, allowing the police to engage constructively with youth, women, and other key audiences in Pakistan and the United States. Using sports as a tool, police officers can break down barriers and develop lasting ties with their communities to provide the security necessary to support economic, political, and social prosperity for all.
The U.S. government invests more than $30 million each year in grant programs that promote cultural exchange between the United States and Pakistan through sports, visual and performing arts, women’s empowerment, entrepreneurship, and a variety of other areas.
Photo courtesy: US Embassy in Pakistan