Representatives from the New York City Police Department, Pakistani Police, Pakistan Cricket Board, and local youth groups participated in a youth cricket skills camp at the Said Pur Cricket Ground to help build a stronger relationship between police officers and their community.
US Embassy Charge d’Affaires Jonathan Pratt welcomed the camp participants, saying, “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.”
More than 100 students and police then completed cricket drills together, prior to a 10-on-10 match between the police and youth, said a press release Wednesday.
“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,” New York police Detective Elvis Vukelj said.
“These types of sports activities can help both American and Pakistani police to engage constructively with our communities.”
Representatives from the Mashal Model School, Pakistan Boy Scouts Association, Pakistan Sweet Home, and the English Access Microscholarship Programme participated in the camp.
The ongoing visit of officers from the New York Police Department Community Affairs Bureau is an opportunity for American and Pakistani law enforcement professionals to exchange knowledge about concrete ways to foster positive and productive relations between the police and the communities they serve.
