Photo Courtesy of NYPD
NYPD Deputy Commissioner of Collaborative Policing, Susan Herman, fielded questions from religious leaders during last Thursday’s event.
By Forum Staff
The City Police Department, in partnership with the Interfaith Center of New York, last week hosted “Public Safety in Today’s Multi-Faith New York,” a forum focused on public safety initiatives and efforts to create better understanding between police officers and the multi-faith communities in which they serve, according to the NYPD.
Executive members of the department and leaders of faith-based communities from across the five boroughs gathered at 1 Police Plaza for the screening of the new police-training video, “Policing in Today’s Multi-Faith New York,” followed by a panel discussion with prominent religious dignitaries.
Guests included, but were not limited to, members of the Muslim, Christian, Yoruba-Lucumi, Jewish, Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, and Unitarian faiths, the NYPD noted.
NYPD Chaplain, Fr. George Anastasiou, started the event in prayer. “Fr. George” spoke of the common goal of police and faith communities alike, which is to find productive ways to promote peace and public safety.
The training video features New York’s religious leaders openly discussing their beliefs, practices, and experiences working on public safety with the NYPD. Each featured luminary shares perspectives on how learning the cultural nuances of faith-based communities can improve relationships with their local police.
According to the department, the training video will be shown to all new recruits who enter the Police Academy, and will be available to all members of the NYPD.
Following the screening, Police Commissioner Jim O’Neill spoke about the importance of collaboration on public safety initiatives with the city’s multi-faith communities, and the need for increased cultural awareness within the NYPD.
“The New York Police Department has been very fortunate to experience a similar increase of different cultures and religions within our own ranks over the past decade or so,” O’Neill said. “With such growth, it’s our responsibility to teach the basic principles of many different customs and viewpoints to every member of our police department.”
O’Neill went on to emphasize how culturally informed policing benefits the safety of not only communities of faith, but of the police department as well.
The panel discussion was moderated by the Reverend Dr. Alfonso Wyatt, founder of the nonprofit consultancy Strategic Destiny. Guest speakers included the Rev. Chloe Breyer, director of the Interfaith Center of New York; the Rev. Que English of the Bronx Christian Fellowship Church; Rabbi Robert Kaplan, founding director of the Center of Community Leadership; Imam Tahir Kukiqi of the Albanian Islamic Cultural Center; and Baba Antonio Mondesire, interfaith ambassador of the Church of Lukumi Babalu Aye. The discussion focused on methods on how religious leaders were individually working on public safety within their communities, as well as with the NYPD. Audience participation followed with a brief Q&A session.
“Public Safety in Today’s Multi-Faith New York” was hosted by NYPD Deputy Commissioner of Collaborative Policing, Susan Herman.
Founded in 1997 by the Very Rev. James Parks Morton, former Dean of the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, the Interfaith Center of New York is a Non-Governmental Organization affiliated to the United Nations Department of Public Information, a nationally-recognized non-profit organization “that catalyzes collaborations” among hundreds of grassroots and immigrant religious leaders and civic officials (judges, teachers, and social workers) to address New York’s most pressing social problems.
