New York Police officers, Pakistani Police, local youth build rapport through cricket

ISLAMABAD, Oct 28 (APP): 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 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.