NCJ Number
205065
Journal
Law Enforcement Technology Volume: 31 Issue: 3 Dated: March 2004 Pages: 16-18,20,22,24
Date Published
March 2004
Length
7 pages
Annotation
This article discusses the importance of law enforcement officers to be able to communicate and understand Spanish.
Abstract
A major language barrier is being caused by the huge influx of Latinos into the United States. Law enforcement officers must police a population in which many of the inhabitants speak a different native language. In order to carry out law enforcement duties within these Spanish speaking communities, it is of paramount importance that police officers are able to effectively communicate in Spanish. If there is a homicide in a Spanish speaking community, officers need to be able to question witnesses and interview possible suspects. If witnesses and suspects only speak Spanish, an officer is not able to carry out their duties if they are not able to communicate in Spanish. Another problem of the language barrier involves officer safety. It is important to understand Spanish in order to understand when suspects or detainees are plotting misdeeds against an officer. Examples are offered of incidents in which suspects were plotting to kill or harm officers but because the officers did not speak Spanish, they were not able to protect themselves against the assaults. Cultural differences between Americans and Latinos are also discussed. It is important to understand aspects of Latino culture that affect police operations. For example, the male patriarchy rampant within the Latino community would proscribe that an officer ask permission of the husband before attempting to interview his wife. The article discusses the ways in which police agencies are attempting to increase their capacity to speak and understand Spanish. Many agencies are actively recruiting Latino officers and other agencies are training their officers to speak and understand Spanish. The author cautions that enrolling in college level Spanish courses is a bad idea because the type of Spanish taught in college is not useful for the duties of a police officer. Several Spanish language training programs specifically for police officers are described. Partner’s in Training Consultants offer a 3-day Spanish course that teaches officers to respect the Latino culture and to speak the type of Spanish necessary to conduct police business. Two other pilot programs are described and funding options for Spanish training programs are identified. The article contains a textbox listing Spanish “danger words” that officers should know.