LONDON (AP) - Two female British police officers have dressed in full-body Muslim veils as part of a daylong community relations exercise, drawing ridicule from critics who called the event a waste of time and money.

British media reported Monday that three officers in the northern England city of Sheffield dressed in conservative Islamic garb and wandered around the city’s center accompanied by a group of Muslim women. A picture published on the Mail Online Web site appeared to show two officers wearing niqabs - full-body black veils with eye slits - while the third was shown wearing a black head scarf.

The Press Association news agency cited an interview with one of the officers in an in-house police magazine in which she said the experience gave her "an appreciation and understanding of what Muslim females experience when they walk out in public in clothing appropriate to their beliefs."

PA said the program, called "In Your Shoes," took place earlier this year but did not say exactly when.