International Community Engagement

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smita-official (2)The Greensboro Police Department continues to develop initiatives for effective community engagement to build bridges and trust within the growing international community in Greensboro. 

To support these efforts, Smita Sarkar works as the Outreach Specialist in the Office of Community Engagement. 

BIO

Smita is a fellow at UNCG's CNNC, which engages in research on refugee and immigrant communities, and is an elected member (Vice Chair) of the International Advisory Committee of Greensboro Human Rights. A journalist by training, Smita did her Masters in International Relations on Southeast Asia and has worked as a Producer with news agencies in India, Singapore, Hong Kong and London, before making Greensboro her home in 2021. Smita speaks five languages and has been involved with the international communities in different roles. She also  worked with FaithAction International House as the Director of Education, Advocacy and Bridge-building (EAB) and with New Arrivals Institute as Outreach Director.

ROLE AND RESPONSIBILITIES
The Community Outreach role was created in July 2023 with the scope to develop initiatives for effective community engagement that can build relationships within our diverse and vibrant community. The goal is to meet the challenges of reducing crime, and help residents feel safe. The role involves reaching out to different communities, understanding their culture, concerns and bringing the knowledge back to GPD. It also includes educating the international and newly arrived members of the community about the Police, and advocate for their rights related to public safety, language access, diversity equity and inclusion (DEI) and mental health.
The Outreach Specialist and team of officers become the first point of contact for information sharing, queries and when there's a crisis within certain communities.

IMPORTANT LINKS

ADVOCACY
The Community Outreach Specialist lifts the voices of the community members, and advocates for their rights related to public safety, language access, mental health, diversity equity and inclusion and mental health. Some of the advocacy work done has been around House Bill HB275 that calls for DMV tests and handbooks to be in Dari, Pashto, French and Swahili for those with language limitations. Understanding the driving rules will ensure better road safety.

Panel discussions with Mayor of Durham, and refugee leaders and members about voting rights and civic engagement took place last year. 

We attended and moderated listening sessions by Governor Roy Cooper's diversity equity and inclusion for Interagency Working Group for New Americans. 

We've started a free women's only yoga class in Arabic for Muslim women who are going through mental turmoil due to war in their countries. Classes include female officers speaking about important topics including women safety tips and situational awareness. Haynes Taylor YMCA have partnered with us on this project. 

 

International Engagement Newsletters:

January '24_Newsletter

April '24 Newsletter