NYPD officers engage with Pakistani hearing impaired students

ISLAMABAD: Two New York City Police Department (NYPD) officers gave a presentation to students about the NYPD's youth programmes at the Special Education Center for Hearing Impaired Children in Islamabad on Wednesday.

PHOTO: INP

Lieutenant Adeel Rana and Detective Elvis Vukelj gave the presentation, after which female students taught the officers to play netball, a new sport for most Americans. The officers also participated in a cricket match alongside the school's male students, according to a statement from the US Embassy.



"In New York, my colleagues and I organise summer camps and sporting activities, and we play alongside the youth,"  Vukelj said.

"These kinds of activities can help both American and Pakistani police to engage constructively with young women and men in our communities and help them develop leadership and teamwork skills."

The Special Education Center for Hearing Impaired Children in Islamabad is dedicated to providing academic and vocational skills to deaf and hard of hearing students. The center provides a wide range of sports programs to students to encourage team building and an active lifestyle.

Through interactive community participation, both the Pakistani police and their NYPD counterparts improve their overall ability to address crime proactively.

PHOTO: INP

Sports programmes 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.



Lieutenant Rana and Detective Vukelj are in Pakistan representing the NYPD Community Affairs Bureau.  Their visit 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.



Since arriving in Pakistan on October 25, Rana and Vukelj have met with police counterparts and representatives of various youth organizations.

US  Embassy Counselor for Public Affairs Christina Tomlinson commented during the school visit:

"Lieutenant Rana and Detective Vukelj are members of one of the most diverse police forces in the world."  In their jobs, they build bridges between their colleagues in the New York City Police Department and the various communities they serve.  They are in Pakistan to share their experiences with communities facing similar policing challenges."