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New York City gets its first Sikh corrections officer |
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Raja G.S. Rathour recently became the first Sikh to graduate – and as valedictorian, what’s more – to become the first New York corrections officer from the community.
For the 36-year-old who opted to work in jails rather than on the outside in regular police work, it was a proud moment when, at the end of his four-month training period, New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg congratulated him on his achievement.
Indians have – in small numbers admittedly – found a place in the police departments across the country, but very few have chosen to work in corrections. Rathour, though, says he always wanted to work in corrections, primarily because he could help people from the minority communities.
“The number of Indians in jails are not high,” Rathour told India Abroad, pointing out that he meant he would like to work for all minorities. “Most Indian Americans who are in jail are there for offenses like domestic ones.”
Indian Americans, like other minorities, face issues such as language, he points out. Also, many of them are vegetarian and find they cannot convey their food requirements to the authorities. “In such situations, an officer from the same community will be of immense help,” he noted.
Working in jails is nothing to fear even though, unlike the police, corrections officers do not carry weapons, Rathour said. His father, Vitali Singh Rathour, is in his own way a pioneer – he was the first turbaned Sikh to weld naval ships for the U.S. Navy at the Brooklyn Navy Yard.
Rathour lives in South Ozone Park, NY, with his wife, Amrit, and their children, Delare, Subag, Dijit, Sunjit and Harpreet. Amrit is also trying to join the corrections department. He immigrated to the United States in 1975, and studied criminal justice at Broward Community College, in Davie, FL. He then earned a B.A. in political science from York College, City University of New York, located in Jamaica, before opting to join the corrections department.
“’My son made me feel proud of him – he is the first American Sikh corrections officer in the city,” Rathour’s father told India Abroad.
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