[VERA Logo] Bridging the Language Divide: Promising Practices for Law Enforcement FebruarY 2009 center on immigration and justice Susan Shah | Rodolfo Estrada [COPS Logo] Page 3 From Vera’s Director Criminal justice agencies have to ensure public safety regardless of changes to local circumstances. A growing influx of new immigrants into communities across the United States has steadily changed—and at times challenged—how police serve and protect communities. Today, in many parts of the country, law enforcement officers interact nearly every day with people who do not speak or understand English well. Sometimes the best answer to a challenge is innovation. When I was New York City’s probation commissioner, we created a new way for low- risk probationers to check in with supervision officers: through reporting kiosks, similar to ATMs. To meet the needs of probationers from diverse backgrounds, the kiosks conduct business in English, Spanish, Russian, and Chinese. At other times, it makes sense to look at what is working elsewhere. The good news is that many agencies have created programs that make effective communication with non-English speakers possible. For this report, the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Community Oriented Policing Services partnered with the Vera Institute of Justice to assess the practices police agencies across the country use to overcome language barriers. Here, we highlight the most promising, describing the efforts of six police departments in diverse jurisdictions. I hope law enforcement leaders will take up the ideas presented here, tailor them to local realities, and reap the benefits of better communication and safer communities. Michael P. Jacobson Director, Vera Institute of Justice Page 4 Executive Summary Law enforcement officers have to communicate with the people they serve to do their jobs safely and effectively. Yet this communication has become a challenge due to changing demographics across the united states. People who do not speak or understand english, and who therefore cannot communicate easily with police, may not report crime, assist officers in criminal investigations, or partner with an agency to advance community policing. many agencies throughout the united states have already developed practices that can either serve as model solutions or spark ideas for innovations. to identify and disseminate these new models, the U.S. Department of Justice’s office of community oriented Policing services (the coPs office) partnered with the VERA Institute of Justice to conduct a national assessment of best practices for overcoming language barriers in policing. this report discusses the most promising practices. VERA staff researched current efforts in this field by reviewing the programs of almost 200 agencies around the country. using phone interviews and site visits, they narrowed the search to practices at six agencies. the agencies vary in personnel size, local circumstances, and populations served. the solutions they developed range from sending officers to mexico as part of a language learning program to using civilian volunteers as interpreters. as law enforcement agencies face challenges in serving non-english speaking communities, they can look to the agencies profiled here for examples of programs that successfully cross the language divide. even if an agency cannot re-create one of the programs described here, it might be able to apply the principle behind it, such as drawing upon volunteers. this report also provides practical resources, such as sample job descriptions, that agencies can use when crafting their own programs. Page 5 Contents 5 Introduction 9 #1: Clearly Identify a Need 10 #2: Build on What Already Exists 11 #3: Maximize Resources 13 #4: LeVERAge Partnerships 14 #5: Enlist Volunteers 15 #6: Improve Personnel Skills 16 #7: Make the Program Permanent 17 #8: Use Data to Manage the Program 18 Conclusion 19 Appendix 1: Sample Documents 56 Appendix 2: Agencies Assessed and Resources “Innovation is required for successful partnerships and problem solving—two essential elements of community policing. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the innovative strategies that agencies nationwide are using to communicate with our nation’s diverse population. Without effective communication, law enforcement can not serve and protect the public. As the number of limited-English proficient individuals in this country continues to grow,an increasing number of law enforcement agencies are modifying tried, true, and tested policing strategies to serve those who do not speak English. And some are even leading the way in creating new programs for overcoming language barriers. These promising practices need to be shared so that police agencies can continue to implement community policing effectively and ensure public safety.” Carl R.Peed Director, Office of Community Oriented Policing Services U.S.Department of Justice Page 6 Jurisdictions at a Glance Jurisdictions at a Glance Boise, Idaho Nashville, Tennessee Boise, the largest city in Idaho, receives between 100 and Nashville, Tennessee, is renowned as a center for country 150 new refugees each month. Most of Boise’s refugees music. As one of the largest cities in the southern United are LEP* and many are unfamiliar with U.S. customs and States, Nashville attracts national and international norms, including criminal justice and police practices. companies. Jobs in the service sector and at these Refugees in Boise come mainly from countries in Africa, companies have attracted large numbers of immigrants, the former Soviet Union, Eastern Europe, and the Middle mainly from Mexico and Latin America. About 13 percent East, and speak a variety of languages, such as Arabic, of Nashville’s population speaks a language other than Bantu, Farsi, Russian, and Somali. About 9 percent of English at home, and 6 percent are LEP. Boise’s population speaks a language other than English at home, and 3 percent are LEP. Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Oklahoma City is the largest city in the state, with a Las Vegas, Nevada metropolitan population of approximately 1.2 million. Las Vegas, the largest city in Nevada, is an international About 14 percent of the city’s population is Latino, tourist destination known for its casinos and hotels. These including a large number of immigrants from Mexico. industries have created many jobs in the service and Many are attracted to work in chicken processing plants construction sectors, and immigrants, mostly from Mexico, and cattle farms. Approximately 17 percent of Oklahoma have been attracted by plentiful jobs. About 33 percent City residents speak a language other than English at of Las Vegas’ population speaks a language other than home, and 8 percent are LEP. English at home, and 16 percent are LEP. Storm Lake, Iowa Lexington, Kentucky Storm Lake, Iowa, is a small city in the western part of the Lexington, long a home to horse breeders and racers, is state, midway between Des Moines, Iowa, and Omaha, the second largest city in Kentucky. Lexington has seen an Nebraska. The city has attracted immigrants with jobs in increase in its number of Spanish-speaking immigrants. its meat processing and packing plants. Laotian refugees Many are from the city of Morelia in Michoacan, Mexico. have also been resettled in the city. With large numbers of Immigrants work in various service industries and local Latinos and Asians, Storm Lake is the most diverse city in tobacco and horse farms. About 10 percent of Lexington’s Iowa. Approximately 27 percent of Storm Lake residents population speaks a language other than English at home, speak a language other than English at home, and 18 and 5 percent are LEP. percent are LEP. source: U.s. census Bureau, The American Community Survey, selected social characteristics in the United states: 2006, http://www.census.gov/acs/www. *LeP means limited-english proficient—the individual has a limited ability to read, write, speak, or understand english. [Cover Image of "Overcoming Language Barriers: Solutions for Law enforcement"] this 2007 report is available online: http://www.VERA.org About Translating Justice the VERA Institute of Justice’s translating justice technical assistance project responds to the need among criminal justice practitioners for strategies that can bridge the language gap between police and people with limited english proficiency. translating justice provides tailored training, consulting services, and research on promising practices to law enforcement agencies that serve increasingly multilingual jurisdictions. the project’s services include demographic data analysis, qualitative research using interviews and focus groups, and strategic planning with stakeholders to identify and develop effective approaches. translating justice has partnered with law enforcement agencies across the united states to develop policies for serving communities with limited english proficiency. it has also convened justice agency personnel to discuss the use of technology in bridging the language gap and developed key resources, such as bilingual criminal justice glossaries. see appendix ii for information about VERA publications and other resources. Page 7 Introduction U.s. censUs Data From 2006 show that almost 20 percent of Americans speak a language other than English at home. About 9 percent can be described as limited-English proficient (LEP)—they have a limited ability to read,write, speak, or understand English.[1] LEP individuals can be immigrants or people born in the United States. With large numbers of LEP individuals living in the United States, the majority of law enforcement agencies nationwide now have daily contact with people who do not speak English.[2] Many law enforcement officers find these interactions frustrating because they do not have the tools or resources to communicate effectively. Communication is essential to the development of partnerships that make community policing an effective strategy for ensuring public safety. Community policing programs,in which law enforcement officers partner with community members to identify and solve problems, cannot work well when officers and residents fail to understand each other. Without dialog, police can not effectively conduct investigations, build community trust, or ensure that victims will report crime. If police do not get an accurate description of problems, their responses may be unsuccessful or counterproductive. In 2008, the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (the COPS Office) partnered with the Vera Institute of Justice to take a comprehensive look at how law enforcement agencies are addressing language barriers in policing.Vera staff solicited information from more than 750 law enforcement agencies and evaluated nearly 200 agencies’practices, selecting 25 agencies for a more thoroug follow-up. From these, Vera staff narrowed the group to the six agencies profiled in this report. Charts and tables summarizing key findings from the 200 agencies and a list of all the agencies are presented in Appendix II. Promising practices— practices that have proven to be effective—are useful to law enforcement because many criminal justice agencies do not have the time or resources t0 develop programs that may not work. By implementing a practice that was successful in another jurisdiction, agencies can reduce trial and error, helping them address language barriers efficiently. This report discusses a wide array of practical and creative solutions that Vera staff have deemed promising practices because they have been successful in overcoming language barriers in their respective jurisdictions. With some adaptation, many of these practices can be applied elsewhere. See Appendix II for links to articles and websites about promising practices. Percent of Individuals 5 Years and Older Who Are Limited English Proficient,2006 [Image color coded of U.S. Map] Data Classes [light grey] .7 – 3.4% [medium grey] 3.6 – 6.7% [dark grey] 7.5 – 11% [black] 11.6 – 20% source: U.s. census Bureau, The American Community Survey, Percent of People 5 Years and over Who speak english Less than “Very Well”: 2006, http://www.census.gov/acs/www. Page 8 [Image of community service officer (right), storm Lake Police Department] The report is organized in eight sections.Each section begins by identifying a promising practice and then describes how programs at different police agencies illustrate that practice.For example,under Promising Practice #3,“Maximize Resources,”readers will find that the Oklahoma City Police Department evaluates officers’language skills and then assigns them to tasks that match their abilities. Someagencies’programswillappearinmorethanonesectionbecausedifferent aspects of the program are good examples of more than one promising practice. The eight promising practices are 1. Clearly Identify a Need 2. Build on What Already Exists 3. Maximize Resources 4. LeVERAge Partnerships 5. Enlist Volunteers 6. Improve Personnel Skills 7. Make the Program Permanent 8. Use Data to Manage the Program About the Agencies Agency and Agency Leaders Locale; Size Sworn Officers Primary Promising of Jurisdiction and Civilian Languages Practice Personnel Encountered Overview ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Boise Police Department Boise, Idaho; Spanish A civilian interpreter program run Chief Michael Masterson 198,783 361 Bosnian by the community outreach division. Somali Began in 2008. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Las Vegas Metropolitan Clark County, Nevada; A civilian interpreter program housed Police Department 1,758,155 4,929 Spanish in the Patrol service division. Sheriff Douglas Gillespie Began in 2003. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Lexington Division Lexington-Fayette A Spanish instruction and language of Police County, Kentucky; 741 Spanish immersion program housed in the Chief Ronnie Bastin 259,050 training section. Began in 2000. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Metropolitan Nashville Nashville, Tennessee; el Protector program in two precincts Police Department 533,298 1,830 Spanish (began in 2004); bilingual chaplain Chief Ronal Serpas volunteers (2006); and a volunteer interpreter program (2005). ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Oklahoma City Oklahoma City, specialized bilingual unit made up of Police Department Oklahoma; 533,724 1,269 Spanish officers from different areas of the Chief William Citty agency. Began in 2003. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Storm Lake Storm Lake, iowa; bilingual community service officers Police Department 10,076* 26 Spanish program. began in 1994. Director Mark Prosser Laotian ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- * city of Storm Lake, http://www.stormlake.org sources: U.s. census Bureau, The American Community Survey, Percent of People 5 Years and over Who speak english Less than “Very Well”: 2006; U.s. census Bureau, The American Community Survey, selected social characteristics in the United states: 2006, http://www.census.gov/acs/www. More information on the six agencies, including contact information, can be found in appendix ii. PROMISING PRACTICE #1 Clearly Identify a Need DeVeLoPing a Program before a need is clearly identified can lead to an unnecessary expenditure of time and resources. A more practical approach identifies community needs first and then works to address them. In Iowa, the Storm Lake Police Department participated in a citywide needs assessment prior to developing two new staff positions that offered services in different languages. In Tennessee, the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department (Metro Nashville) identified a growing demand for services by the city’s Latino population before it added Spanish-speaking clergy members to an existingcounseling program that had provided services only in English. Storm Lake Used a citywide assessment to identify residents’ need for services in their own languages; developed two new positions to address those needs Storm Lake,Iowa,a small city of 10,000,experienced increases in both its Laotian and Latino immigrant population in the early 1990s. To identify challenges associated with the changing demographics, the city brought together all of its agencies,including the police department,to conduct a formal needs assessment. The assessment identified providing services in people’s native languages as a priority. Before any other government agency responded to the assessment’s findings, the Storm Lake Police Department developed two civilian Community Service Officer positions,one dedicated to providing services in Laotian,the other to providing services in Spanish. Nashville Addressed an identified need by expanding an existing program to meet the needs of new communities As in many other communities,local clergy members play an important role in and around Nashville, Tennessee.The Metro Nashville Police Department’s chaplain program has trained clergy members who provide death notifications and grief counseling to families in need. Initially, the department relied on one staff chaplain,a sworn officer who spoke only English.After recognizing a serious problem with delivering traumatic news to Spanish-speaking residents, the department identified a need for Spanish-speaking chaplains. It began recruiting and training volunteers from the Spanish-speaking clergy to take on these duties.The department now draws upon a pool of clergy members who provide this service. Language Access and the Law addressing language barriers not only makes law enforcement more successful, it also aligns agencies with federal law. under title vi of the civil rights act of 1964 (42 u.s.c. § 2000d et seq.) and executive order 13166, all agencies that receive federal funding must provide meaningful access to people who have limited english proficiency. not doing so could constitute discrimination on the basis of national origin. For additional information related to language access and the law, please see the resources section in appendix ii. “The bread and butter of policing is information. We need to be able to communicate.” Chief Ronal Serpas Metropolitan Nashville Police Department Working with Interpreters more and more law enforcement agencies are using telephonic or in-person interpreters to enable them to communicate with the people they serve. to use interpreters successfully, agencies should be aware of the following: • Being bilingual does not mean someone is able to interpret. Interpreters need to be trained on different methods of interpreting and terminology. • Interpreters should be instructed on their role in the conversation—to be a conduit for the parties. Interpreters should not include their own views. • interpreters should not edit, add, subtract, or modify what is said. • Interpreters should ask for clarification if they did not understand what was said. • Interpreters need to understand the ethical rules that apply to interpreting, particularly regarding how to avoid or address conflicts of interest. PROMISING PRACTICE #2 Build on What Already Exists agencies Working to oVercome language barriers do not need to re-create the wheel; they can take what works elsewhere and tailor it to meet local needs. Law enforcement agencies in Lexington, Kentucky; Boise, Idaho; and Las Vegas, Nevada, looked at promising practices elsewhere to develop workable solutions in their jurisdictions. Lexington Built on existing promising practices by looking beyond the policing field for guidance on how to structure its language training program The Lexington Division of Police developed its Advanced Language Program—a two-part, U.S. and Mexico-based immersion program—to provide Spanish language instruction to officers and civilian personnel. Since the program began in 2000,the number of Spanish-speaking personnel in the department has increased from two to more than 100. Some agencies offer language instruction in the United States, and a few offer immersion instruction in a Spanish-speaking country, but the Lexington Division of Police developed a model that combines both types. To create it,the agency’s Training Section consulted with the Kentucky Institute for International Studies, a consortium of colleges and universities based at Murray State University that specializes in international education. That organization had learned that students need to practice their language skills for a year before fully benefiting from an overseas immersion program. Boise Built on existing promising practices by seeking resources from other fields—locally and nationally—to develop procedures that ensure optimal use of interpretation services The city of Boise is home to four refugee resettlement agencies. Social service and government agencies, including the police, must adapt quickly to changes in the city’s population. Complicating the matter, refugees in Boise speak various languages, including Bosnian and Somali. Although the Boise Police Department has always reached out to its refugees, it lacked a way to directly communicate with them. To address this need, the department’s Community Outreach Division staff looked to other government and private entities, such as hospitals, for examples of ways to overcome the language gap. One common approach was to use paid civilian interpreters whom officers could call on for in-person or telephonic interpretation. When the police department first tried to use in-person interpreters, it quickly learned that officers needed guidance on how to access their services. To develop a special order for when and how officers should access an interpreter, Boise used a model policy from the Federal Interagency Workgroup on Limited English Proficiency. That model policy and similar resources are available at http://www.lep.gov/resources/resources.html. Las Vegas Built on existing promising practices by researching human resourcespoliciesinotherfields;structureditscivilianinterpreter program based on existing salary and staffing models The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (Las Vegas Metro) uses civilian staff to serve as interpreters for officers who are interacting with Spanish speakers. The Hispanic Interpreter Services Program, which is housed in the Patrol Services Division, was originally funded through the federal Byrne Grant Program, which provides seed money to promising programs. Once the department decided to make the program permanent, it sought to formalize hiring procedures and salaries to match its other human resources policies. In doing so, the agency looked for nationally accepted staffing and salary models for civilian interpreters. After finding few models among police agencies, the department looked to the courts and the private sector for guidance as it created a formal salary and benefits package for the permanent program. To read the job descriptions Las Vegas Metro developed and a related human resources memo, see Appendix I. PROMISING PRACTICE #3 Maximize Resources FaceD With LimiteD staFF anD BUDgets, seVERAl of the agencies assessed rethought their use of resources to maximize their ability to overcome language barriers. The Storm Lake Police Department drew upon civilians with existing language skills to fill new staff positions. Las Vegas Metro made it easier for officers to access its interpreters by providing interpreters with dispatch radios and police cars,enabling them to respond to officers’ calls more quickly. The Oklahoma City Police Department developed a ranking system to assess bilingual staff’s language skills and more strategically assign officers with high levels of fluency. Storm Lake Maximized resources by creating civilian positions to fill a gap, recognizing that recruiting bilingual officers would be much more difficult [Image] hispanic interpreter services Program interpreter with officer, Las Vegas Metroplitan Police Department [Image] Community Service Officers, Storm Lake Police Department “Ninety-nine percent of policing is problem solving. Communication is vital.” Deputy Chief Gary Schofield Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department [Image] Bilingual Unit Staff, Oklahoma City Police Department Responding to the needs of the city’s Laotian- and Spanish-speaking residents, Storm Lake developed two Community Service Officer staff positions to provide interpretation and translation services. The department chose to develop civilian positions because it was easier to create nonsworn positions than attempt to hire bilingual sworn officers in an environment in which recruiting bilingual officers is extremely difficult. Civilians who already spoke the languages the department needed were easier to recruit, hire, and train. Las Vegas Maximized resources by making staff interpreters more accessible and efficient and by improving oversight of its program While Las Vegas Metro’s Hispanic Interpreter Services Program was successful in providing language services to officers at headquarters and in the neighboring area,it had difficulty serving commands in the northern and western parts of the city. To maximize its investment in the program, the department made the interpreters accessible to the entire agency 24 hours a day, 7 days a week by giving each interpreter a dispatch radio and an unmarked police car.This made it possible for them to quickly travel to officers in all parts of the city. Similarly, the department initially created all of the program’s interpreter positions as part-time civilian staff. Part-time positions were less costly for the agency and also allowed the interpreters to more easily remain connected to their communities through other employment and associations. As the program grew, however, the agency decided to create three full-time management positions so that managers could supervise the part-time interpreters and handle oversight tasks, such as scheduling, data collection, and reporting to senior management. Oklahoma citY Maximized resources with a new unit that ranked bilingual officers’ language proficiency, allowing highly skille dofficers to be used for high-level communications The Oklahoma City Police Department created a new Bilingual Unit to streamline the process of assigning bilingual officers to calls for assistance and to ensure that bilingual officers were well-trained and qualified to interpret. The new unit was modeled after other specialty law enforcement units, such as SWAT units, testing each officer’s language ability using objective, standardized American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Language tests before assignment. Bilingual officers were ranked by their language proficiency so that higher ranked officers would handle communications requiring the most fluency, such as interrogations; lower-ranked officers would handle necessary but lower profilecommunications.This system has not only freed up fluent officers for high-level duties that match their skills, but it also provides an incentive for less fluent officers to improve their language skills. Dispatch and command staff are notified of each officer’s rank within the Bilingual Unit to ensure that the officers are used appropriately. A document explaining the unit’s standard operating procedures is available in Appendix I. PROMISING PRACTICE #4 LeVERAge Partnerships LaW enForcement agencies can supplement limited resources by forging partnerships with members of the nonprofit, business, academic, and social services communities.The agencies highlighted here develop and sustain their programs by drawing on partnerships for a range of resources, such as free cell phones for an interpreter program in Nashville, help with vetting and recruiting interpreters in Boise, and fine-tuning language and cultural instruction in Lexington. Nashville Created a partnership with a local business to provide free products and services for a volunteer interpreter program To supplement the department’s in-house bilingual staff, Metro Nashville Police Department formed a relationship with a local cell phone company that donated cell phones and usage time for a program that enlists community volunteers as interpreters. Each volunteer is on call 2 days a month, providing interpretation via cell phone on an as-needed basis for officers in the field.The entire program requires minimal agency funds because the interpreters are volunteers and the cell phones are donated. The arrangement also benefits the cell phone company, which has received positive media coVERAge for its donations. This partnership has been so well-received by officers and volunteers that the company now hosts events to honor the department’s volunteer interpreters. Boise Partners with refugee agencies to learn about language needs and recruit interpreters; joined with a university to create a website that serves as a job board for interpreters The Boise Police Department’s longstanding partnership with the city’s refugee resettlement agencies has enhanced its ability to reach multilingual populations. The department works with these agencies to find out what languages are spoken by newly settled refugees. In addition, the agencies provide police with the names of promising candidates for the police department’s interpreter program. The Bilingual Chaplain Program is meant to show “a heart and compassion for all people. All people receive the same kinds of service with care and concern.” Chaplain James Duke Metropolitan Nashville Police Department [Image] community Outreach Division Officer, Boise Police Department [Image] ALP officers learning Spanish, Lexington Division of Police The program is intense because “once a week over unch ain’tgoing to cut it.” Prof. Fred de Rosset Kentucky Institute for International Studies The department has also partnered with Boise State University to create a central web site (http://www.Boiseinterpreters.com) that connects interpreters with jobs across the city. Lexington Drew upon the expertise of an academic institution to fine-tune its language learning programs; partners with another law enforce ment agency to provide hands-on cultural training for officers The Lexington Division of Police has partnered with a local higher-learning institution—Murray State University, which houses the Kentucky Institute for International Studies—as well as two law enforcement agencies in Mexico— the city of Morelia Police Department and the Public Security Office of the State of Michoacán— for its Advanced Language Program (ALP). The academic institutions developed the agency’s U.S.-based Spanish language curriculum. The Mexican law enforcement agencies host U.S. officers during a 5 week Spanish immersion program. Mexican officers take their U.S. counterparts with them on ride-alongs to facilitate their observation of local policing practices. PROMISING PRACTICE #5 Enlist Volunteers resoUrceFUL LaW enForcement agencies draw upon volunteers, who often have needed language and cultural skills, to expand the services they provide. The Boise Police Department uses volunteers as interpreters, and the Metro Nashville Police Department enlists volunteers as advisors on police and community affairs. Boise Enlisted volunteers to meet an immediate need for interpreters; adapted volunteer interpreter program to create a new program using paid interpreters Before creating a paid interpreter program, the Boise Police Department’s Community Outreach Division staff recruited volunteers to serve as interpreters. Volunteers were put on a resource list that staff used to match officers’requests for interpretation with interpreters. Tapping into existing community resources, police recruited volunteers who worked at local hospitals, businesses, and nonprofits and who spoke needed languages. While working with volunteers, staff began procedures—such as tracking calls for service in a particular language—that they would later formalize in a paid interpreter program. Also, the contacts staff made while recruiting volunteers proved useful in recruiting paid interpreters. In enlisting volunteers while a full-fledged interpreter program was being developed, the department was able to immediately address language needs—and later, to use its experiences with volunteers to inform its paid interpreter program. Nashville Enlists community volunteers to advise and direct its Latino outreach program Metro Nashville Police Department’s El Protector program, based in two precincts with significant Latino populations, was adapted from a state highway patrol program in California and Washington State that sought to decrease traffic fatalities in the Latino community. El Protector’s bilingual officers not only enable residents to report crime in their own language, but they also conduct ongoing outreach with Latino residents on topics such as traffic safety and domestic violence. When Nashville adapted the program, it included a volunteer community advisory board to ensure that the program would be responsive to community needs. The board guides the program and addresses opportunities and challenges. Its input is given great importance; most recently, the board led an effort to rebrand the El Protector program with a new logo. Volunteers must apply to be considered for the board and are vetted to ensure they are well qualified. The application process helps identify board members who are willing to devote their time and energy to the program. See Appendix I for El Protector’s board member application. PROMISING PRACTICE #6 Improve Personnel Skills As theY create programs to overcome language barriers,in addition to improving communication between police and communities, agencies can seek to cultivate and build staff skills. The Lexington Division of Police uses its immersion programs to increase officers’ cultural competency. The Oklahoma City Police Department provides additional language-learning opportunities to members of its Bilingual Unit. Lexington Created a language-immersion program that also serves as an opportunity to develop officers’ cultural competency—their under standing of Mexican culture and norms The Lexington Division of Police’s Advanced Language Program use sU.S.-based language instruction and an immersion program in central Mexico to develop officers’ Spanish language skills. The immersion component, which sends officers to Mexico for 5 weeks, develops officers’ culturala warenes sas well as their language skills. When they return to Lexington, officers have a better understanding of Mexican immigrants’ expectations about how to interact with law enforcement. Basic Strategies the following basic strategies were common to many of the agencies VERA staff reviewed, including the six agencies profiled in this report. even if an agency cannot implement one of the programs described here, these strategies can enable agencies to better serve people who do not speak or understand english well. • Develop a formal written policy for serving LeP individuals. • Use telephonic interpreters. • Recruit bilingual officers or civilian staff. • Offer incentives for bilingual staff, including bilingual pay. • Provide opportunities for officers to learn Spanish. • Translate vital documents, such as miranda warnings. [Image] ALP officers in Mexico, Lexington Division of Police Spanish for Law Enforcement: Online Training A growing number of law enforcement agencies are using online language instruction, which costs less than sending officers to classes and can accommodate students’ varied schedules and learning speeds. seVERAl online providers have developed Spanish instruction specifically for law enforcement personnel. this instruction generally focuses on developing vocabulary and listening skills. some of the web sites that provide online instruction for law enforcement are listed below: • www.Spanishonpatrol.com • www.workplaceSpanish.com • www.123teachme.com/learn_Spanish/police_vocabulary Law enforcement agencies should closely examine online programs to ensure that they are of high quality and complement existing agency programs. these providers are not endorsed by the VERA institute or the coPs office. Oklahoma citY Provides opportunities for staff to maintain and develop language skills The Oklahoma City Police Department has similarly given bilingual personnel opportunities to receive tailored language training. Monthly unit meetings include role-plays in Spanish and instruction in law enforcement terminology. PROMISING PRACTICE #7 Make the Program Permanent When an eFFectiVe Program becomes institutionalized within an agency, not only can it grow, but it also becomes more likely to survive budget cuts or changes in leadership. Las Vegas Metro, Oklahoma City, and Metro Nashville have all taken various steps to ensure that their programs last longer than grants, cadet classes, or individual officers. Las Vegas Institutionalized are liable and effective language resource for agency personnel by allocating a portion of the agency’s funds to the program Although Las Vegas Metro’s Hispanic Interpreter Services Program was initially funded through a federal grant, its continued success led the sheriff to prioritize its inclusion in the budget once the grant ended. By funding the program through the agency’s tax levy budget, program managers have been able to formalize hiring, staffing designations, and interpreter responsibilities. Moreover, agency personnel have come to rely on the interpreters for assistance during critical encounters. Oklahoma citY Incorporated language training into its academy, putting time for language learning on par with hours for tactical training To institutionalize the agency’s commitment to improving access to services in Spanish, the Oklahom City Police Department made language training a major part of its oVERAll training effort. New recruits in the academy receive 70 hours of Spanish instruction, almost twice what they received a few years ago. The increased Spanish instruction has fortified an agency-wide culture of Spanish language-learning. Nashville Demonstrated a gency-wide commitment to a Latino outreach program by changing its program materials It may be easier to institutionalize a program that is widely viewed as an agency-wide effort. Metro Nashville Police Department’s El Protector program was originally presented as an initiative run by a single officer. The program’s community advisory board, however, suggested rebranding it as a program run by the entire police department. In response, the agency selected a new logo for the program by holding a contest among local high school students. The agency also changed the program’s written materials to make it clear that El Protector belonged to the whole agency, and not just to one officer. PROMISING PRACTICE #8 Use Data to Manage the Program LaW enforcement agencies can assess programs and flag areas for improvement by collecting and analyzing data. Both the Las Vegas Metro and Oklahoma City Police Departments have used data to understand how programs are working and to identify pressing language needs. In Lexington, police surveyed community members to assess their satisfaction with its language program. Las Vegas anD Oklahoma citY Track and analyze data to identify service needs and their programs’ ability to meet them The interpreters who staff Las Vegas Metro’s Hispanic Interpreter Services Program keep a daily log of their activities, including the number ofr equests for interpretation services that they must respond to before they become available again. These numbers can be a signal to supervisors that interpreters may not be able to arrive quickly enough for officers who need help. The data have also been used to plan the program’s expansion. By tracking requests, the agency was able to see that officers frequently used fee-for-service interpreters when the agency’s own interpreters were not available. This led the agency to conclude that investing in its own program would be a morecost-effective solution than paying external interpreters. “We can’t pick and choose our customers.This is what we have to do to provide assistance to the community.” Detective Marvin RiVERA Metropolitan Nashville Police Department [Image] El Protector officers, Metropolitan Nashville Police Department “Having officers speak some Spanish opens the door to more communication. There is a sense that the department’s policy is earned trust,not blind trust.” Lindsay Mattingly Cardinal Valley Center in Lexington, Kentucky Similarly, the Oklahoma City Police Department’s Bilingual Unit documents its activity in monthly logs, reporting on the languages covered and time spent interpreting. See Appendix I for Oklahoma City’s Bilingual Unit Activity Report form. Both Las Vegas Metro and the Oklahoma Cit yPolice Department have used data to document the need for their programs and secure or sustain funding. Lexington Uses data from a community survey to evaluate the success of its program The Lexington Division of Police evaluated the success of its Advanced Language Program by including questions specific to the program in a community satisfaction survey. Among other findings, the survey revealed a correlation between officers speaking Spanish and an increase in calls for assistance in Spanish. Is Your Agency Using Promising Practices? Yes No --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Are your programs addressing a clearly identified need? Is your program building upon existing practices in the policing field or beyond? Are you maximizing your use of resources—for example, the use of both sworn and civilian personnel to address language challenges? Are you leVERAging community expertise and partnerships to augment your program’s reach? Are you enlisting community volunteers to ensure that your program is addressing the community’s needs? Does your agency’s program improve personnel skills? Is your program institutionalized within your agency? Are you using data to manage program usage, successes, and challenges? --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Conclusion This report profiles seVERAl approaches taken by a diverse group of law enforcement agencies to successfully overcome language barriers with thecommunities they serve. Not all agencies have the resources or staff to implement these practices. Yet all agencies have the ability to think about how language barriers affect their work and to develop local solutions.The programs described here are helping law enforcement in these jurisdictions to do their jobs more effectively. By finding similar ways to overcome language barriers, law enforcement agencies across the nation can move closer to their common goal:improving public safety. EnDnotes 1 U.S. Census Bureau, The American Community Survey, selected social characteristics in the united states: 2006. http://www.census.gov/acs/www. 2 the VERA Institute of Justice’s assessment for this report found that more than 70 percent of law enforcement agencies come into contact with LeP individuals on a daily basis. Appendix I: sample DocUments This section contains sample agency documents and resources, such as operating procedures and job descriptions. It also includes a list of the most commonly translated law enforcement documents and the agencies that have translated them. 18 Lexington Division of Police, General Order 23 Oklahoma City Police Department, Bilingual Unit Standard Operating Procedures (Excerpt and Glossary) 31 Oklahoma City Police Department, Bilingual Unit Activity Report 33 Storm Lake Police Department, Community Service Officer Job Classification & Assignment 35 Storm Lake Police Department, Community Service Officer Job Description 37 Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, Interpreter Job Description 39 Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, Supervising Interpreter Job Description 42 Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, Creation of a New Class Series: Interpreter Memo 47 Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, Spanish Interpreter Code of Professional Responsibility 50 Metropolitan Nashville Police Department, El Protector Advisory Board Application 51 Miranda Warning, English/Spanish 52 Commonly Translated Documents [Scanned Image - 5 pages] Lexington DiVision oF PoLice GeneraL Order Oklahoma CitY PoLice Department BilingUaL Unit standardD OPerating Procedures BILINGUAL UNIT SOP TABLE OF CONTENTS 100.00 STATEMENT OF PURPOSE 200.00 ORGANIZATION AND STAFFING 300.00 UTILIZATION AND DEPLOYMENT 310.00 UTILIZATION 320.0 DEPLOYMENT 330.00 OFF DUTY CALL OUT 400.00 GOALS, OBJECTIVES AND PERFORMANCE MEASURES 500.00 PERSONNEL DUTIES, AUTHORITY AND RESPONSIBILITIES 510.00 BILINGUAL UNIT SUPERVISOR 520.00 BILINGUAL UNIT LIEUTENANTS 530.00 TRAINING DIRECTOR 540.00 TESTING DIRECTOR 550.00 UNIT MEMBERS 600.00 PERSONNEL SELECTION PROCEDURES 610.00 BILINGUAL UNIT SUPERVISOR 620.00 BILINGUAL UNIT LIEUTENANTS 630.00 BILINGUAL UNIT MEMBERS 700.00 TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT 710.00 MONTHLY TRAINING 720.00 ACADEMY TRAINING 800.00 ANNUAL INSPECTION 900.00 RECORDS MANAGEMENT AND SPECIAL REPORTING 910.00 TRAINING RECORDS 920.00 RECORDS RETENTION 1000.00 COLLECTION AND PRESERVATION OF EVIDENCE 1100.00 EQUIPMENT/VEHICLE OPERATION AND CONTROL APPENDIX A GLOSSARY Oklahoma CitY PoLice Department BilingUaL Unit standardD OPerating Procedures 100.00 STATEMENT OF PURPOSE The Oklahoma City Bilingual Unit was formed in order to assist the Department to perform its mission and deliver its services in situations where languages other than spoken English are used. The Bilingual Unit performs this function by providing trained interpreters and translators, by maintaining contacts and relationships with communities and individuals who speak languages other than spoken English, and by performing linguistic and cultural training. 200.00 ORGANIZATION AND STAFFING The Department undergoes periodic evaluation to ensure it is organized in such away that it meets the changing needs of the Oklahoma City community. This evaluation may result in changes over time, to redistribute resources to optimally address contemporary issues and conditions. Redistribution of personnel and resources may occur as a result of any Department reorganization. The Department’s organizational structure is depicted on an organizational chart that is reviewed, updated and distributed as a Special Order to all personnel as needed. The organizational chart depicts the formal lines of authority and communication within the Department. The Oklahoma City Police Department Bilingual Unit falls under the chain of command within Operations Central. All Bilingual Unit members have primary assignments. Membership in the Bilingual Unit is voluntary, and considered a secondary assignment i.e., there are no full time assignments to the Bilingual Unit. Bilingual Unit members can come from any bureau within the police department. 300.00 UTILIZATION AND DEPLOYMENT 310.00 UTILIZATION The Bilingual Unit will be utilized in a variety of means. 1. Immediate call for interpreting assistance. Any police department employee may request assistance from any Bilingual Unit member to interpret or assist. These requests may be made informally, or formally through the Unit chain of command. 2. Scheduled appointment for interpreting assistance. Any police department employee may request, in advance, assistance from the Bilingual Unit to help with a future interpreting appointment. These requests may be made informally, or formally through the Bilingual Unit chain of command. 3. Request for participation in a community event. Any police department employee may request in advance, assistance from the Bilingual Unit to assist with a community event activity. These requests should be made formally through the Bilingual Unit chain of command. 4. Request for translation (written language) assistance. Translations, which refer to written language instead of spoken language, are generally performed by experts outside of the department. Any police employee who wishes to have a document translated should submit that request to the Bilingual Unit Supervisor. 5. Request for linguistic or cultural training. The Bilingual Unit is available to provide language training and cultural training to both Department employees and to citizens, whenever it is in the best interest of the Department. Requests for training should be submitted to the Bilingual Unit Supervisor. 320.0 DEPLOYMENT Any on-duty Bilingual Unit member may self-dispatch to an interpreting need or request as long as his response is in line with his work unit’s SOP and his/her chain of command has been informed of his assignment. In addition, requests for assistance can be made directly to the Bilingual Unit officer, through the Communications Unit, or to the Bilingual Unit Supervisor. Once deployed, the Unit member shall evaluate the request and determine if it is within his/her scope of expertise. The member shall then make the decision to: 1. Perform the assignment; 2. Request assistance from a more skilled member of the unit; 3. Refer the assignment to the Bilingual Unit Supervisor for reassignment. In the event the Bilingual Unit is requested for out-of-jurisdiction assistance, the Bilingual Unit member receiving the request shall utilize his chain of command to obtain the Watch Commander’s permission to comply with the request. 330.00 OFF DUTY CALL OUT If a request for assistance occurs and no on-duty Bilingual Unit members are available for assistance, the Bilingual Unit Supervisor shall be contacted for possible off-duty call out of a Unit member. The Bilingual Unit Supervisor shall evaluate the situation, determine if an off-duty Unit member should be activated, and if so, notify the member of the assignment. Communications will then be notified of the member’s activation. 400.00 GOALS, OBJECTIVES AND PERFORMANCE MEASURES The goals of the Oklahoma City Police Department’s Bilingual Unit are to assist the department to perform its mission and deliver its services in situations where languages other than spoken English are used. It is our goal to complete this task in the most efficient and effective manner possible. In doing so, we will commit ourselves to excellence and discharge our responsibilities professionally and courteously while making maximum utilization of available resources. The Bilingual Unit will strive to keep abreast of the newest, latest and most up to date technology and information in order to maintain a well-trained and diverse unit with the ability to respond to the most demanding situations that arise within the community. 500.00 PERSONNEL DUTIES, AUTHORITY AND RESPONSIBILITIES 510.00 BILINGUAL UNIT SUPERVISOR The Bilingual Unit Supervisor’s duties will include, but are not limited to the following: 1. Directs the day-to-day operation of the Bilingual Unit; 2. Serves as coordinator and scheduler of assignments; 3. Acts as the Department’s liaison, when needed, to second-language communities and individuals; 4. Plans Bilingual Unit assignments in cooperation with other agencies; 5. Collects and maintains information on assignments; 6. Reviews logs and reports for accuracy and completeness; 7. Assembles statistics on Bilingual Unit activity; 8. Maintains an inventory for Bilingual Unit. 9. Coordinates activities of the Bilingual Unit Lieutenants. 520.00 BILINGUAL UNIT LIEUTENANTS Team Leaders (Lieutenants) will perform the following duties: 1. Keeps current records of members, equipment and training; 2. Provides supervision of Bilingual Unit members when on a Bilingual Unit assignment; 3. Assists the Bilingual Unit Supervisor as needed; 4. Assists with the training of Bilingual Unit Members; 5. Collects appropriate documentation and reports. 530.00 TRAINING DIRECTOR The Bilingual Unit Supervisor shall appoint one member to be the Training Director. This officer, in coordination with the Unit Supervisor, shall be responsible for the monthly training agendas as well as any scheduled linguistic or cultural training schools. 540.00 TESTING DIRECTOR The Bilingual Unit Supervisor shall appoint one member to be the Testing Director. This position will not be filled by the same individual serving as Training Director. The Testing Director, in coordination with the Unit Supervisor, shall be responsible for the monthly and annual testing of all Bilingual Unit members, as well as assisting the Training Director with testing procedures during scheduled language schools. 550.00 UNIT MEMBERS Bilingual Unit members’ duties will include, but not be limited to: 1. Performs all the tasks assigned to him/her, and successfully completes the assignment. This includes responding to on and off-duty callouts: 2. Completes any necessary reports; 3. Keeps a running log of Bilingual Unit activity performed by that officer; 4. Continues to strive to increase his skill level and the skill levels of his fellow Unit members. 600.00 PERSONNEL SELECTION PROCEDURES The Oklahoma City Police Department Bilingual Unit is a voluntary unit and the duties of the officers on the Bilingual Unit are in addition to the officer’s regular assignments. Applicants who wish to be considered for duty on the Bilingual Unit must meet the following requirements and go through the following procedures. 610.00 BILINGUAL UNIT SUPERVISOR The Chief of Police, or his designee, selects the Supervisor of the Bilingual Unit. The selection is made based on work experience, interpersonal skills and general reputation as a manager. Second language competence, while valued, is not a requirement. 620.00 BILINGUAL UNIT LIEUTENANTS The Bilingual Unit Supervisor, after consultation with the Unit’s chain of command and existing Bilingual Unit lieutenants, shall select appropriate lieutenants to serve as Team leaders and co-supervisors. Second language competence, while valued, is not a requirement 630.00 BILINGUAL UNIT MEMBERS A. Must be in good standing with the Department; B. Cannot be on any kind of disciplinary probation; C. Provide documentation of special training, skills or experience; D. Submit request to Bilingual Unit Command via divisional chain of command; and E. Upon approval of Division Supervisor and Bilingual Unit Command, the Division Bilingual Unit Lieutenant will select potential Bilingual Unit members to be given the ACTFL-OPI or SIIPI test. Successful applicants who attain an Intermediate or above score on the ACTFL OPI or SLIPI test will be admitted as probationary members to the Bilingual Unit for the period of one year. After the completion of one year of successful performance on the Bilingual Unit, the officer will be given full, non-probationary status. 700.00 TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT The Bilingual Unit will provide training, as needed, to Bilingual Unit members and other departmental employees. Training shall be provided for seVERAl reasons: 1. To ensure that Unit members’ skills do not deteriorate over time; 2. To raise the skill level of Unit members; 3. To introduce other departmental employees to linguistic and cultural issues; 4. To train other departmental officers to become qualified as Bilingual Unit members. 710.00 MONTHLY TRAINING The Bilingual Unit shall train the first Wednesday of each month except January. This continual training is to increase and maintain skills consistent with the variety of the mission. Training is required in order to create a highly specialized Unit capable of performing with precision in all situations. All Bilingual Unit members are required to attend monthly training unless approved by appropriate authority. 720.00 ACADEMY TRAINING Each academy recruit class is taught, both cultural awareness and Spanish. The Bilingual Unit is tasked with providing instruction in both these areas. 800.00 ANNUAL INSPECTION The Bilingual Unit will cooperate with the Staff Inspections Unit, when they perform inspections of the Unit. The purpose of the Staff Inspection is to compare the department’s formal expectations with the actual performance of the Unit. 900.00 RECORDS MANAGEMENT AND SPECIAL REPORTING When a Bilingual Unit Member uses his language skill to interpret for another officer, he/she will ensure that his/her participation and the information interpreted are recorded in a police report, if necessary. This report may be either the initial officer’s report, or a supplemental report filed by the Bilingual Unit member. All completed supplemental reports will be reviewed and then processed into the Records Unit. 910.00 TRAINING RECORDS Training records will be completed and maintained by the Training Director. Copies will be provided to the Training Center for CLEET credit whenever possible. 920.00 RECORDS RETENTION The Bilingual Unit will adhere to Oklahoma State Statutes and the Record’s Retention Policy of the City of Oklahoma City regarding records retention. 1000.00 COLLECTION AND PRESERVATION OF EVIDENCE Bilingual Unit members may locate property or evidence during the course of their duties. During such situations, members will document the recovery of such item, preserve and/or collect it, and submit it per applicable procedure. A report will be made. 1100.00 EQUIPMENT/VEHICLE OPERATION AND CONTROL The Oklahoma City Police Department Bilingual Unit utilizes a wide variety of specialized equipment in order to perform its interpreting, training and public relations duties. Property management includes the care and maintenance of existing equipment, accurate record keeping, and the procurement of new equipment that updates and replaces current equipment that is no longer serviceable. APPENDIX A GLOSSARY Oklahoma City Bilingual Unit officers use the following terms in their course of their duties. Knowledge of these concepts is very valuable to any employee wishing to make use of Bilingual Unit members’ abilities, or to further their own understanding of second language and cultural issues. ACTFL American Council of Teachers of Foreign Language. This national organization has developed objective, standardized tests of spoken languages, the ACTFL tests. It is this test that the Department uses to determine the skill level of Bilingual Unit members. Each Bilingual Unit member is labeled with their ACTFL OPI score, which is an excellent description and ranking of their ability to speak and understand their target language. Detectives and other individuals needing formal or complex interviews performed should attempt to use a Bilingual Unit member with an Advanced or Superior ACTFL score. ACTFL OPI The ACTFL Oral Proficiency Interview is the specific tool the Department uses to test Bilingual Unit members. It tests oral conversational ability only, with no reading, writing, or specific vocabulary required. ADVANCED LEVEL This is the next-to-highest level of proficiency on the ACTFL scale. Speakers at this level do not speak or understand as well as a native speaker, but have a high level of ability nonetheless. AMERICAN SIGN LANGUAGE American Sign Language, or ASL, is one of the sign languages spoken by many deaf individuals. (See also, SEE Sign.) While ASL is not a spoken language, it is correct and common usage for officers to refer to Deaf individuals and signers as ‘speaking’ ASL. ASL is not based on English, but is a separate language with its own grammar, usage and idioms. It is not a universal language, but is specific to people living in North America. Not every deaf person speaks ASL. All Bilingual Unit Sign Language members speak some level of ASL CERTIFIED While it is common for people to speak of Certified Interpreters, there are actually very few certifying agencies in the USA. In Oklahoma, only Medical Interpreters and ASL Interpreters can become certified. All other agencies and industries, such as government, education and law enforcement, develop their own in-house standards for second language use. It is incorrect to call any of these individuals, including any police officer, a ‘certified’ interpreter, unless they have gone through Medical Interpreting or ASL Interpreting Certifying process. CONSECUTIVE INTERPRETING Consecutive Interpreting refers to the stop-and-go pattern used in many interpreting situations. A speaker will speak a short sentence or two, then pause, and the interpreter will speak, interpreting the words of the speaker. This is a higher level of interpreting than Summary Interpretation, but lower than Simultaneous Interpreting. When using Consecutive Interpreting, Departmental employees can greatly assist Bilingual Unit members by speaking in short, choppy sentences, thus allowing the interpreter to interpret short ideas rather than long, complicated ones. CULTURAL BROKER Communication involves not just language, but also an understanding of the cultural assumptions of both involved parties. Members of the Bilingual Unit are expected to act not just as interpreters, but also as Cultural Brokers, assisting parties on both sides to clearly and fully understand any miscommunications or misunderstandings due to cultural differences. Officers using Bilingual Unit members are encouraged to ask the Interpreter if there are any cultural issues that might be helping or hindering the transmission of their messages. DOMINANT LANGUAGE Regardless of an individual’s native country, family history or language history, they will have evolved a Dominant Language, the language they are most comfortable in. When communication is of great importance the individual’s Dominant Language should be used. Determining a bilingual individual’s Dominant Language can be difficult, and assumptions should not be based purely on the individual’s native language or home language. Miranda warnings and any statements obtained after a Miranda warning should always be obtained in the suspect’s Dominant Language. Specific and focused questions should be asked of the suspect to determine his Dominant Language, if the subsequent questioning is to be accepted in court. DEPARTMENT OF REHABILATATIVE SERVICES The Oklahoma DRS is the agency that oversees Deaf and Sign Language Issues. Their agency tests and certifies ASL speakers, using the QUAST and SLIPI tests. ETHNICITY The Federal government defines five Races (See Race). Subcategories of Race are Ethnicities such as Hispanic. FLUENCY Describing a speaker as ‘fluent’ or ‘being fluent in a language’ is common but misleading, as it is an inexact and undefined term. The Department uses the ACTFL-OPI and SLIPI scores to more correctly and exactly define an officer’s skill level. GIST Many people who are not fully competent in a language can still understand portions of the language. This is called ‘getting the gist’ or ‘understanding the gist’ of the language. Individuals who feel they can understand the gist of what was said often miss many crucial words and ideas that can greatly alter meaning. Officers should remember that it is an inaccurate and unreliable method of understanding, and little weight should be given to statement information obtained at this level. HERITAGE SPEAKER A Heritage Speaker is an individual who was raised in a family environment where a second language was spoken, as opposed to a Native Speaker, who grew up in the country of that language. Many Bilingual Unit members are Heritage Speakers. These individuals can have a strong, natural understanding of the language, but also could incorporate many errors in their speaking due to their lack of time in the native country. The Department does not depend on Heritage Speakers to perform written translations, as a written translation needs the skill level of a Native Speaker. HISPANIC Hispanic is the most common term to describe someone of Hispanic Ethnicity. It is preferred, and is far more precise, than ‘Spanish’ or ‘Mexican.’ Latino is also used with equal correctness. IDIOM An idiom is a phrase made up of words that do not actually describe the phrase’s meaning. “What’s up?” “I’m beat” and “Clear as a bell” are all examples of idioms, none of which are clear when translated word for word. Officers are encouraged to avoid the use of idioms when using Bilingual Unit members, as idioms are notoriously difficult to interpret. INTERMEDIATE The middle level of the ACTFL-OPI is the Intermediate level, and is the entry level for Bilingual Unit membership. Speakers at this level are more advanced than beginning, or Novice, speakers, but still struggle with the language. They can generally make themselves clear, but cannot interpret or understand complicated or subtle ideas. INTERPRETATION Interpreting involves spoken (or signed) language, while Translating involves written language. If a person is speaking, they are Interpreting, not Translating. INTERPRETER In spoken languages, this is a general term and can be applied to people speaking at many levels. In the Deaf Community, however, this is a legally defined specific term that implies the Interpreter is a QAST Certified, neutral, third party interpreter, not a Bilingual Unit member who speaks ASL. L.E.P. A person who does not speak or struggles with English is defined as a Limited English Proficiency individual. The Bilingual Unit primarily deals with LEPs. LATINO Another term used in conjunction with Hispanic, although Latino is sometimes a more politically laden term. NATIVE SPEAKER A Native Speaker spent the majority of his childhood in a country speaking his native language. This contrasts with a Heritage Speaker, who learned his second language in a home environment, but outside of a country that spoke that home language. NATIONALITY Nationality refers to the legal permanent residence of an individual, rather than to their race, ethnicity or which language they speak. ‘Spanish’ is not a nationality. Likewise, officers should not assume a Spanish-speaker’s nationality is Mexican unless that has been specified. Many Hispanics in the Oklahoma City area have a nationality of a country other than Mexico. NOVICE A Novice is the lowest of the ACTFL skill levels, and describes a low-functioning individual. QAST The QAST test (Quality Assurance Screening Test) is the test the Oklahoma Department of Rehabilitative Services administers to professional ASL Interpreters. It is a high-level, very rigorous test. The Department uses the DRS SLIPI test instead. RACE There are five Races defined and used by the Federal government: White, Black or African American, American Indian or Alaskan Native, Asian, and Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander. Hispanic, Mexican, Vietnamese and similar terms are not races, they are Ethnicities or Nationalities. Bilingual Unit members should accurately describe individuals by using all three categories: Race, Ethnicity and Nationality. S.E.E SIGN Signed Exact English, or SEE Sign, is another sign language used by some Deaf individuals. It is not a separate language, but signs English nearly word for word. A Deaf person might speak SEE Sign, ASL, a combination of both, or neither. SIMULTANEOUS INTERPRETATION Simultaneous Interpreting is the highest level of interpreting. In this method, the Interpreter speaks at nearly the same time as the speaker, interpreting his words at the same rate they are spoken. SLANG Slang is a non-standard usage of words. In general, slang is difficult to interpret and should be avoided when using a Bilingual Unit member. SLIPI The SLIPI test is the test the Oklahoma Department of Rehabilitative Services administers to any level of ASL speakers. The Department uses the test as the standard. SPANGLISH Spanglish refers to a mix of Spanish and English, the normal result of speaking one language in the presence of another. Spanglish is, in general, a slang language and thus should be understood by Bilingual Unit Spanish speakers, but generally not spoken by them. It should also be remembered that Spanglish is generally only picked up by Spanish speakers who have spent some time in the US. Newly arrived immigrants are generally very unfamiliar with any Spanglish, and again, Bilingual Unit members should avoid its use with them. SUMMARY INTERPRETATION Summary Interpretation occurs when an interpreter listens to a speaker, and then summarizes what was said as he interprets, as opposed to more accurate word for word interpretation. This method of interpretation is by far the most common, and can be useful, if the speakers understand that their whole meaning is not getting through; only a summary is being interpreted, with many details and ideas left out. An officer needing a formal statement from a suspect or witness should not rely upon summary interpreting. SUPERIOR Superior is the highest of the four ACTFL levels. It implies the speaker could speak at an educated native’s level. TRANSLATION Translation refers to writing, whereas Interpreting refers to speaking. WORD FOR WORD INTERPRETING Word for word interpreting is contrasted with Summary or Gist interpreting. While no two languages can literally be interpreted word for word, this method of interpreting attempts to capture complete meanings, rather than Summarizing or shortening ideas. Bilingual Unit members should be asked to perform Word for Word interpretations for important suspect or witness statements. aPPendix 1: samPLe documents3232 Dates Shift Assignment Officer's Name Comm # Version 1.0, revised 01-Jan-08 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Incident -------- Event Location Nature Case or Sequence Number Times ----- Minutes Regular Duty Minutes Spec ial Assignment Minutes Overtime Minutes Comp Time Timing ------ Immediate Scheduled Bureau ------ Investigations Operations Origin ------ Self-initiated Request from Officer Request from Supervisor Request from Dispatch Request from Bilingual Unit Request from Citizen Assisted -------- Own Unit Other Unit Other Bureau Other agency Output ------ Verbal Only Reports Recorded Interviews Language -------- Spanish, Vietnamese, ASL T or L ------ Spoken Interpretation Written Translation TOTALS >>> Event # ------- 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. FELONS IDENTIFIED CHARGE COMMENTS, NEW VOCABULARY, POPULATIONS ENCOUNTERED, ETC. Dates This sheet could cover a day, a week, a set, or any period up to a month; whatever time period is appropriate. Fill out as many sheets as you need, and either turn them in at the monthly meetings or interoffice-mail them to the Bilingual Unit Supervisor. Shift Either your Patrol Shift (1, 2, 3rd) or your investigations shift, Day, Evening, etc. Assignment Your general assignment: SF Patrol, Domestic Violence, Crime Lab, etc. Officer’s Name & Commission Number Either the officer, civilian employee or civilian volunteer name and ID number. Incident -------- Event LocationAddress or location of the incident. ‘Office’ or ‘Central’ can suffice for Detectives. Nature Nature of the call. Case or Sequence Number Either your case number, or if no Case Number was obtained, the Dispatch Sequence Number. Telephone calls and casual civilian contacts will often not generate a case number or sequence number. Times ----- Start Time Time you began assistance. End Time Time you finished providing 2nd language assistance. Minutes ------- Minutes Regular DutyHow many minutes you spent providing assistance as part of your regular duty shift in your own Bureau. Minutes Special Assignment Minutes you spent AWAY FROM YOUR NORMALDUTIES on providing assistance. Minutes Overtime Minutes you spent earning Overtime providing assistance. Minutes Comp Time Minutes you spent earning Comp Time providing assistance Timing ------ Immediate Did you provide this assistance without much prior warning, or, Scheduled Was this request for assistance scheduled inadvance? Bureau ------ Investigations Was this call primarily assisting an Investigationsunit? Operations Was this call primarily assisting an Operations unit? Origin ------ Self initiated Did you self-initiate this incident yourself? Request from Officer Did this request come directly from an officer or detective? Request from Supervisor Did this request come to you from a supervisor? Request from Dispatch Did this request come from Dispatch? Request from Bilingual Unit Was this request scheduled through the Bilingual Unitor a Bilingual Unit supervisor? Request from Citizen Did this request come from a citizen? Assisted -------- Own UnitDid you provide assistance primarily for your own Detective Unit or Patrol Division? Other Unit Did you leave to assist to another Unit or Patrol Division? (Santa Fe officer assisting Springlake, Larceny detective helping Robbery, etc.) Other Bureau Did you leave your Bureau to assist a different Bureau? (A Patrol Officer helping a detective, a detective helping on a patrol call, a Patrol Officer assisting at the jail, etc.) Other Agency Did you assist County, OHP, ICE, etc? Output ------ Verbal OnlyNo reports made, or only FI/Citations filled out. Reports Crime Incident, Arrest Report, or Detective report generated. Recorded Interview Was your interpreting recorded, either audio or video? Language -------- Either S for Spanish, V for Vietnamese, or A for ASL Mode ---- SpokenWas this exclusively a speaking assignment? Written Did you read/write or translate a written document? Felons Identified & ChargesDuring the course of your assistance, were any Felony Suspects arrested OR Identified? Comments ------- Please enter any additional comments, ideas, suggestions, vocabulary encountered, different dialects heard, etc., in this space. [Scanned Image - 2 Pages] Storm Lake PoLice DePartment CommUnitY SerVice OFFicer JoB CcLassification & Assignment Storm Lake PoLice DePartment CommUnitY SerVice OFFicer JoB Description COMMUNITY SERVICE OFFICER General PUrPose Performs a variety of cultural tasks along with routine civilian support service work in support of law enforcement activities. SUperVision ReceiVed Works under the close supervision of the Police on-duty Lieutenant. SUPerVision Excercised None. Essential DUties and Responsibilities • Assumes primary interpretation and translation responsibilities for the Police Department in Spanish, Lao or both. Assists the Police Department in cultural sensitivity and understanding. • Provides programs to the public on Police Department functions and purposes. • Assists all other City agencies as assigned. • Assists the Crime Prevention Officer with programs and responsibilities. Assist with the responsibilities of the Vehicle Maintenance Officer. • Conducts “public relations” street beat patrols of the business community when assigned. • Manages and conducts all “vacation checks” on a weekly basis. • Assigned some minor desk reports which do not have suspects or where no follow-up is necessary. • Fills in for clerical staff during vacations and sick leave. • Assists patrol officers at crime scenes, fire scenes and accident scenes. Patrols the streets of the community and report all criminal activity to a police officer. • Conducts code enforcement activities for the Police Department. • Completes monthly reports of activities to the Captain. PeriPheraL DUties Serves on various employee and other committees as assigned. Performs related work as assigned. Desired MinimUm Qualifications Education and Experience: (A) High school graduate or GED equivalent. Necessary Knowledge, Skills and Abilities: (A) Knowledge and command of the languages: Spanish, Lao or both (B) Able to speak, read and write the English language clearly. (C) Ability to prepare written reports. (D) Ability to pass an extensive background investigation. (E) Ability to pass a physical agility test. (F) Display report writing ability. (G) Ability to pass a medical physical exam. (H) Successfully complete field training. Special ReqUirements Valid Iowa Driver’s License or ability to obtain one prior to employment. Storm Lake PoLice DePartment CommUnitY SerVice OFFicer JoB Description (Cont'd) Desired QUalifications College credit preferred. TooLs and EqUiPment Used Personal computer, including word processing and specialized software; phone, typewriter, calculator, fax machine, copy machine; police car, police radio, pager, first aid equipment, vehicle lock out tools, camera. PhYsical Demands The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. While performing the duties of this job, the employee is frequently required to sit and talk or hear. The employee is occasionally required to run; stand; walk; use hands to finger, handle or operate objects, tools or controls; reach with hands and arms; climb or balance; stoop, kneel, crouch or crawl; and taste or smell. The employee must occasionally lift and/or move more than 100 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception and the ability to adjust focus. Work EnVironment The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. While performing the duties of this job, the employee occasionally works in outside weather conditions. The noise level in the work environment is usually quiet in the office to moderately noisy in the field. Selection GUidDelines Formal application, rating of education and experience; oral interview, background check, driving record check, and reference check; job related tests may be required. The duties listed above are intended only as illustrations of the various types of work that may be performed. The omission of specific statements of duties does not exclude them from the position if the work is similar, related of a logical assignment to the position. The job description does not constitute an employment agreement between the employer and the employee and is subject to change by the employer as the needs of the employer and requirements of the job change. SALARY RANGE: $9.50 - $12.51 F.L.S.A STATUS: Non-exempt Las Vegas MetroPolitan PoLice DePartment Interpreter JoB Description INTERPRETER Class specifications are intended to present a descriptive list of the range of duties performed by employees in the class. intended to reflect all duties performed within the job. DEFINITION Incumbents perform interpretation and translation services for various areas of the Department; perform related office support work. SUPERVISION RECEIVED AND EXERCISED Receives direct supervision from a civilian supervisor. ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS 1. Perform consecutive interpretation in the field or as part of an investigation. 2. Transcribe audio tape records. 3. Translate voluntary statements and evidentiary papers; may translate official forms, legal and non-legal documents, and official correspondence. 4. Travel to crime scenes, auto accident sites, and associated facilities such as detention centers and hospitals to provide interpretation services for uniformed officers and investigative staff. 5. Attend interviews, meetings, and interrogations to provide interpretation service. 6. Use bilingual skills to assist Department employees and the public in person and by telephone. 7. Use bilingual skills to act as a liaison between the Department, other government agencies, and community organizations, and the general public. 8. Exemplify Department Values. Las Vegas MetroPolitan PoLice DePartment Interpreter JoB Description (Cont'd) QUALIFICATIONS Knowledge of: Conversational, colloquial, and idiomatic English; Written English, including grammar and punctuation; Conversational, colloquial, and idiomatic forms of a foreign language; Written form of a foreign language, including grammar and punctuation; General office procedures and practices, including record keeping Ability to: Fluently read, write, and speak both English and a foreign language; Learn terminology and jargons used in the law enforcement community; Perform consecutive interpretation; Travel to auto accident sites, crime scenes, and other sites to perform interpretation services; Translate written statements and documents; Transcribe audio recordings; Demonstrate professional ethics when performing interpretation and/or translation work; Produce printed, translated products by using a word processing program in the computer; Operate office equipment such as fax machines, copiers, and phones; Maintain records; Communicate clearly and concisely, both in oral form and writing; Establish and maintain effective working relationships with those contacted in the course of work; Maintain confidentiality; Demonstrate those characteristics which are consistent with Department values; Maintain physical and mental conditions appropriate to the performance of assigned duties and responsibilities. Experience and Training/Education Requirements Experience: One year of professional experience as an interpreter and/or translator in a government or community agency or business corporation. Training: High school diploma or General Education Diploma (GED). Certificate: Possession of a State Court Interpreter Certificate as a Certified Interpreter or equivalent may substitute for one year of professional experience as an interpreter. License: A valid Nevada Class “C” driver’s license. Physical Conditions: Sit or stand for extended periods of time to work in the office and in the field; drive on urban and rural roads to reach sites to perform interpretation services. Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department SUperVising Interpreter Job Description SUPERViSiNG INTERPRETER Class specifications are intended to present a descriptive list of the range of duties performed by employees in the class. Specifications are not intended to reflect all duties performed within the job. DEFINITION Incumbents train, review, and evaluate the work of Interpreters; schedule employees; perform the more complex and consequential translation work impacting on significant criminal investigation and/or prosecution efforts. DISTINGUISHING CHARACTERISTICS This is the first-line supervisor in the Interpreter class series distinguished by the absence of oVERAll program planning and coordination functions. SUPERVISION RECEIVED AND EXERCISED Receives direct supervision from assigned management staff. Exercises direct supervision over staff. ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS 1. Supervise employees; monitor, review, and evaluate performance; assist in hiring of new employees. 2. Schedule employees; schedule interpreters for appointments with any Department work units needing language interpretation for interviews; prepare and submit payroll reports. 3. Assess staff training needs; work with employees to correct deficiencies; resolve general performance and conduct issues. 4. Assist in developing program goals and objectives; implement approved policies and procedures. 5. Prepare various reports and memos on operations and activities. 6. Assist in monitoring inventory. 7. Respond to inquiries and complaints from the public, employees, and management staff; answer phone calls routed to the supervisor’s desk; provide information and assistance as appropriate. 8. Perform the more complex and consequential translation work. 9. May testify in court. 10. Exemplify Department Values. QUALIFICATIONS Knowledge of: Principles of supervision, training and performance monitoring; General office practices, procedures and computer equipment; Principles and practices of record keeping; Conversational, colloquial, and idiomatic English; Written English, including grammar and punctuation; Conversational, colloquial, and idiomatic forms of a foreign language; Written form of a foreign language, including grammar and punctuation; Ability to: Monitor, organize, and review the work of staff; Identify training needs and develop, present, and evaluate training; Prepare clear and concise reports; Monitor inventory; Communicate clearly and concisely both orally and in writing; Operate office equipment such as fax machines, copiers, phones, and computers; Maintain records; Establish and maintain effective working relationships with those contacted in the course of work; Maintain confidentiality and ensure the same from subordinates; Demonstrate those characteristics which are consistent with Department values; Perform consecutive interpretation; Learn terminology, codes and jargons used in the law enforcement community; Travel to auto accident sites, crime scenes, and other sites to perform interpretation services; Translate written statements and documents; Maintain physical and mental conditions appropriate to the performance of assigned duties. Experience and Training/Education Requirements Experience: Two years of professional experience as an interpreter and/or translator in a sizable government or community agency or business corporation. Training: High school diploma or General Education Diploma (GED). Certificate: Possession of a State Court Interpreter Certificate as a Certified Interpreter or equivalent may substitute for one year of professional experience as a interpreter. License: A valid Nevada Class “C” driver’s license. WORKING CONDITIONS Environmental Conditions: Office environment; work with computers; travel from site to site; varying weather conditions typically associatedwith working in the field; unpleasant sights, sounds, and smells associated with auto accidents and crime scenes. Physical Conditions: Sit or stand for extended periods of time to work in the office or in the field; drive on urban and rural roads to reach sites to perform interpretation services. Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department Creation oF a NeW CLass Series: InterPreter Memo I. Background For years, the Department has been running the Hispanic Interpreter Services Program (HISP) which employs 30 part-time Spanish Interpreters and three part-time Lead Spanish Interpreters. These part-time employees are primarily stationed at City Hall to provide verbal interpretation and written translation services to all work units of the Department. As and when the need arises, interpreters respond to auto accident sites and go to crime scenes, hospitals, jails, business offices, as well as residential homes. Much of the work is done verbally, but the Department has also seen the steady growth of the need for high-quality translation service, especially pertaining to voluntary statements and records of interrogation involved in high-profile cases. Such service needs to be consistent with stringent court standards and able to withstand challenges from defense attorneys who have access to persons highly proficient in interpretation and translation services as well. As such service carries more impact on criminal investigations and possible prosecutorial efforts, it is generally done by a panel of three part-time Lead Spanish Interpreters, who are also tasked with training, coaching, and reviewing the work of employees at the journey level. As their workload has steadily grown over the last three years, the need to turn these part-time positions into full-time first-line supervisors has also become obvious. Full-time supervisory positions are expected to provide the Department with better assurance of employee accountability, dedication, and coVERAge in terms of days and time when they are expected to report for work, quality control, continuity in the professional standards that a core group of employees uses, as well as retention of expertise. That is why Central Patrol is intent on turning their three part-time Lead Spanish Interpreter positions into full time, each of which will supervise a team of 10 part- time Spanish Interpreters. As the demand for interpretation and translation services from various LVMPD units grows, so does the need for a central person having the broad perspective of ensuring uniformity and consistency in operating the language services program in the following areas: hiring, training, and production standards, budget and policy planning, significant employee conduct and grievance issues, external and internal complaints, and use of office devices and facilitating equipment. These functions, minus technical decisions on how accurate our interpretation work products is, have been assumed by a Police Lieutenant when they actually should be assigned to a civilian supervisor to allow the lieutenant more time for what he/she has been trained to perform: law enforcement and section-wide management responsibilities. Central Patrol has obtained preliminary funding for a civilian program coordinator position, as well as three full-time first-line supervisor positions to replace an equal number of part-time positions. Personnel has, therefore, been requested to determine the proper class titles and pay grades for these positions. However, we believe we should take the opportunity to set the pay grade of the journey level as well, so that Central Patrol will have an anchor by which they can perform their budget planning as and when they need to turn some of their 30 part-time Spanish Interpreter positions into full time. II. Methodology For a study of this nature, salary surveys are an essential part. With few exceptions, industry practices are that whenever a class series (e.g. LEST, Senior LEST, and LEST Supervisor) exists, salary surveys are done at the journey level only, because this is usually where open recruitments and hence market competition take place. An extra impetus for a survey to be done at the journey level, seen at the Appendix, has come from the fact that Central Patrol envisions hiring full-time Interpreters in the near future. In addition, internal comparisons using the usual nine compensable factors were also done to confirm the feasibility of using such survey data. Afterward, discussions with Patrol Services Bureau management and incumbent Lead Spanish Interpreters were held to obtain the latest information on the HISP program. Subsequent consultations with Bureau management and PPACE were done before the study findings and recommendations were submitted to the chain. III. Salary Survey Data At the journey level, the survey produced data from 8 respondents among 24 sizable neighboring jurisdictions. “Court Interpreter” is considered a job match alongside “Interpreter/Translator” because there is no significant difference in the knowledge and skills when comparing the two and because it is generally the same pool of job applicants responding to job advertisements posted by the Department and our competitors covered by the survey. The journey-level survey data includes minimum pay as low as $24,378 and maximum pay as high as $70,366. Employers like San Bernardino County and Salt Lake County are not known to pay any of their positions high, whereas the opposite is generally true with North Las Vegas, and then there are employers like Phoenix and Washoe County generally positioning their compensation levels in between. The aVERAge survey data at the range minimum indicates an hourly pay at $16.59, which is marginally above its LVMPD N24 counterpart at $16.36, versus the hourly $15.45 we pay our part-time Spanish Interpreters. We base our comparison primarily on the range minimum because this is the typical hiring pay point and because few applicants can take a pay cut and look forward to how much they will be making in ten years. As many part-time positions are filled by persons having other sources of income, we cannot assume that the $15.45 hourly pay is competitive when applied on full-time positions. While the survey data does indicate that N24 may be a competitive pay level, we still need to find out if it is reasonable within the LVMPD civilian pay plan. IV. Compensable Factor Comparison The following comparison based on compensable factors employs LEST as the benchmark: Interpreter Law Enforcement Support Technician Knowledge required: Knowledge required: One year of experience as a professional Possession of a high school diploma or Interpreter/translator in a business, community, or equivalent. govt agency, plus a high school diploma; or possession of the Nevada Court Interpreter Certificate. Supervision Received: Supervision Received: Receives supervision typical of office support Receives supervision typical of office support employees. Language interpretation work does not employees. Exercises limited discretion on allow much room for personal discretion. completion of office and/or law enforcement support assignments. Guidelines Available: Guidelines Available: Straightforward. Work performance and conduct If exists, the operational manual for support are governed by Code of Professional functions (e.g. Data retrieval using the Multi- Responsibility to ensure accuracy, completeness, System Guide, data entry, filing, and impartiality, confidentiality, avoidance of conflict receptioning) tends to be straightforward and of interest, and a defined scope of practice. detailed, leaving little room for interpretation. Complexity: Complexity: The singular focus of language interpretation work Tasked with a larger variety of law enforcement mandates that actions to be taken are readily and office support functions. Decision making discernible involving little or no choice to be involves the recognition of the existence of, and made. The work is, therefore, quickly mastered. differences among, different sources of information, transactions, or entries. Scope and Consequence of Work: Scope and Consequence of Work: Interpreting at interrogations and interviews allows The work affects the accuracy or reliability of the employee access to highly confidential further processes but seldom critical enough to information. Other duties affect the accuracy or derail investigations and law enforcement reliability of further processes. functions. Supervision Exercised: none. Supervision Exercised: none. Purpose of contacts: Purpose of contacts: To obtain or give information. To obtain or give information. Physical Demands: Physical Demands: Driving a department vehicle to respond to a Working inside an office does not require any service call or working inside an office does not special agility or dexterity. require any special agility or dexterity. Work Environment: Work Environment: Gruesome or mentally disturbing features found at Typical office work environment with adequate crime scenes or auto accident sites. lighting, heating, and ventilation. From the above comparison, we can see that both classes of positions are on a par with each other under most compensable factors. Some differences do exist. Interpreter has a higher entry work experience requirement, is allowed access to highly confidential information due to interpreting at interrogations and interviews, and a less inviting work environment. However, this situation is offset by the higher job complexity of many LEST positions because, whereas Interpreter has the singular focus on interpretation and translation work, LEST employees are tasked with a larger variety of law enforcement support and office support functions. In addition, they are also expected to possess more flexibility and adaptability when transferring from one position to another. As such, there should be pay parity between Interpreter and LEST. V. Titling and Structuring Given the above, we recommend that Interpreter be paid at the same pay grade as LEST, i.e. N24, if they become full-time positions. Following the departmental convention set by the Ralph Andersen Study that allows the direct supervisor class a 15-percent differential, we recommend N30 ($39,458 -58,406) for the supervisory level and N36 ($45,760 -67,725) for the Interpretation Services Coordinator. Pay Grade Interpreter Class Series (proposed) N24 Interpreter (if becoming full-time) N30 Supervising Interpreter (proposed) N36 Interpretation Services Coordinator (proposed) Upon consultation with Patrol Services Bureau, we recommend the generic title of “Interpreter” rather than the specific title of “Spanish Interpreter” because of the possible future need to include interpretation and translation of languages other than Spanish. VI. Funding We understand that for 2007-08, Central Patrol has obtained approval of $112,323 for 3 positions at the supervisory level and $42,364 for one position at the program coordinator level. As the positions are not expected to be filled until the last quarter of 2007-08, and as new hires are typically paid at the range minimum, the current funding level is expected to more than cover the expenditure. However, Central Patrol may need to seek additional funding for 2008-09 commensurate with the proposed pay grades. VII. Recommendations Given the above findings and analysis, we recommend approval of the following: (A) Creation of a new class series called “Interpreter” consisting of Interpretation Services Coordinator, Supervising Interpreter, and Interpreter; (B) Creation of one full-time Interpretation Services Coordinator position paid at N36 (($45,760 - 67,725) of the civilian pay plan; (C) Creation of three full-time Supervising Interpreter positions paid at N30 ($39,458 -58,406); (D) Setting the pay range of Interpreter at N24 ($34,029 -50,398) to provide a reference for Central Patrol to perform budget planning as and when the Division considers creating full-time Interpreter positions in the future; and (E) Proposed class specifications for the above new classes. APPENDIX SALARY SURVEY: INTERPRETER Respondent Job Match Minimum Pay Maximum Pay COUNTIES Alameda no match Contra Costa Translator $29,078 $35,344 Orange no match Riverside no match San Diego no match Sacramento no match San Bernardino Interpreter/Translator $24,378 $31,158 Los Angeles Interpreter $36,696 $37,692 Santa Clara no match Clark Interpreter Salt Lake Interpreter $25,992 $36,400 Maricopa Interpreter $40,872 $70,366 King no match Washoe Court Translator $36,899 $57,221 CITIES San Jose no match Sacramento no match San Diego no match Los Angeles no match Las Vegas no match North Las Vegas Interpreter Court Clerk $42,778 $61,172 Phoenix Court Interpreter $39,312 $57,637 Henderson no match Salt Lake City no match Seattle no match CUMULATIVE $276,005 $386,990 AVERAGE $34,501 $48,374 Hourly: $16.59 Proposed Interpreter, journey-level class, N24 $34,029 $50,398 Hourly: $16.36 Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department Spanish Interpreter coDe oF Professional ResponsiBilitY PREAMBLE This Code of Professional Responsibility supplements and does not replace any sections of the LVMPD Department Manual governing employee conduct. The Department Manual shall pre-empt this Code if and when a conflict arises. Access to law enforcement services provided by the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department is generally dependent on the availability of communication channels. Both technology and personal contacts have made such communications possible. However, the Department’s contacts with the Hispanic community, which constitutes about 30 percent of the local population, have been limited by the language barrier. The goal of the Spanish Interpreter Services Program (HISP) is to remove or significantly reduce this barrier. This will ensure that members of the Hispanic community speaking limited English, whether they are local residents or visitors, may enjoy EQUAL ACCESS to police services, which will, directly or indirectly, enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of the Department as a whole. RULE ONE: ACCURACY AND COMPLETENESS Interpreters shall render a complete and accurate consecutive interpretation and/or sight translation, without explanation, unless given permission by the supervisor, and without altering, omitting, or adding anything to what is stated or written. Explanatory notes: A. Interpreters have this ultimate obligation: To place the non-English speaking person on an equal footing with those who understand English by removing or significantly reducing the language barrier. B. This obligation is fulfilled by conserving every element of information contained in the source language communication when it is rendered in the target language. If a female client states, “I went shopping last Sunday” in the source language, the interpreter is required to state “I went shopping last Sunday” in the target language. The interpreter is notsupposed tostate,” She said she went shopping last Sunday.” C. In the course of performing their duties and responsibilities, interpreters do not speak for themselves. They interpret languages only. If they have to speak for themselves in those occasions such as requesting their clients to repeat a statement or to slow down, they should make it clear that they are speaking for themselves. Or else it may be construed as a request from one party (other than the interpreter) that the other party repeat a statement or slow down. D. Precision in language interpretation is achieved by the interpreters’ application of their best skills and judgment to preserve faithfully the meaning of what is said, including the style or register of speech and the emotional emphasis of the speaker. E. Precision is not necessarily achieved by verbatim or literal interpretations. Word-for-word interpretation in many cases could actually distort the meaning of the source language. The reason is that how a statement is expressed is governed by the culture that creates the vocabulary and the related grammatical rules. F. The obligation to achieve accuracy in language interpretation includes that to correct any error of interpretation discovered by the interpreter during and after the interpretation session. G. Every spoken statement, even if it appears non-responsive, obscene, rambling, or incoherent should be interpreted. H. Interpreters should never interject their own words, phrases, expressions, or emotions. Interpreters are hired to interpret and not to explain. When they explain what they feel is the meaning of what is stated by their clients, they are adding extra information to, and hence distorting the meaning of, their clients’ statements. However, if the need arises to explain an interpretation problem, e.g. a term or phrase with no direct equivalent in the aPPendix 1: samPLe documents 49 target language, the interpreter should ask the supervisor or the clients for permission to provide an explanation. RULE TWO: IMPARTIALITY AND AVOIDANCE OF CONFLICT OF INTEREST Interpreters shall be impartial and unbiased and shall refrain from conduct that may give even just an appearance of bias. Interpreters shall disclose any real or potential conflict of interest. Explanatory Notes: A. LVMPD serves the public. Interpreters must refrain from conduct in general that may embarrass the Department and any specific conduct that calls into question the interpreter’s integrity or impartiality. Actual cases of bias embarrass the Department as much as just the appearance of favoritism. Providing better or more accurate interpretation services to one client over another will defeat the ultimate goal to provide equal access to police services. B. Professional detachment - Interpreters should refrain from verbal or non-verbal displays of personal attitudes, prejudices, emotions, or opinions when conducting language interpretation. C. If the interpreter becomes aware that the non-English speaking client views the interpreter as having a bias or being biased, the interpreter should inform his/her supervisor or the LVMPD client that he/she is serving. If the accuracy of the interpretation done in an interrogation is challenged in court, the potential does exist that the case could be thrown out of court for due process violations. D. Interpreters must maintain a professional relationship between them and their clients. Interpreters are not law-enforcement officers and must not act or pretend to be in that capacity, although their non-English speaking clients may sometimes be confused about the role of the interpreter.Lacking knowledge of the English-speaking community and out of fear of authorities, such clients may even be tempted to develop a personal dependence on their interpreters for information and personal assistance. It is the obligation of interpreters to discourage such dependence. E. Interpreters should always disclose actual or potential conflicts of interest to their supervisor or the LVMPD client whom they serve, who will decide whether the interpreter concerned will be allowed to provide the interpretation service. F. The following are circumstances that are presumed to create actual or apparent conflicts of interest for interpreters wherein they should not serve, or should at least perform a full, prior disclosure and seek the prior permission to serve: 1. The interpreter is a current/former friend, coworker, employer, employee, business associate, or relative of the non-English speaking client or the legal counsel for the suspect; 2. The interpreter has served in an investigative or defense capacity for the case involving the non-English speaking client; 3. The interpreter has previously been retained by a law firm or a police agency to assist in the preparation of the criminal case at issue; 4. The interpreter or the interpreter’s spouse or child has a financial, personal, or child custody interest in the subject matter; and 5. The interpreter may become, or has become, the attorney-in-fact of the non-English speaking client on the case at issue or other personal matters. RULE THREE: CONFIDENTIALITY Interpreters shall, at all times, maintain confidentiality of all enforcement information and put confidential interpreted/translated information in a secure place. Explanatory Notes: A. The following is presented in addition to the Department Manual governing confidentiality. B. All interpreted conversations in the course of interrogations, wiretapping, or gathering information for making crime reports are confidential information. C. Interpreters should refer to the separate LVMPD Security Agreement that they sign for detailed requirements in maintaining confidentiality. D. Interpreters shallnot publicly discuss, report, or offer an opinion ona LVMPD matter in which they are or have been engaged, regardless of whether they use information that they know by virtue of being a LVMPD interpreter, and regardless of whether the information is privileged or confidential. RULE FOUR: SCOPE OF PRACTICE Interpreters shall limit themselves to interpreting or translating, and shall notgive legal advice, express personal opinions to individuals for whom they are interpreting, or engage in any other activities which may be construed to constitute a service other than interpreting or translating while serving as an interpreter. Explanatory Notes: A. Interpreters are hired to enable non-English speaking persons to communicate with the Department by faithfully representing the source language in the target language. Their job is NOT to render an interpretation of the law or to deliver to their non-English speaking clients their knowledge of the criminal justice system or LVMPD, either on duty or off duty. B. It is the duty of interpreters to inform their clients of their scope of practice, if and when their proper role is misunderstood. It is also their duty to report to their supervisor if their non-English speaking client insists that the interpreterperform beyond their professional scope of practice. RULE FIVE: USE OF DEPARTMENT EQUIPMENT AND VEHICLES Interpreters shall, at all times, handle Department equipment and vehicles with care and use them only for official business. Explanatory Notes: A. The following is presented in addition to the Department Manual governing use of Department property and vehicles. B. Department equipment hereinafter includes office machines, furniture, stationery, and communication devices issued specifically to an individual interpreter or available for common use by Department employees. C. “Official business” generally refers to acts to handle and complete an official routine or specific assignment, during which interactions with Department employees and external bodies may or may not be necessary. D. Interpreters shall not use Department-issued cell phones, pagers, other equipment, and vehicles for purposes other than for official business. E. Regardless of whether they are driving a personal vehicle, or a Department-owned or rented vehicle, at no time are Interpreters condoned, authorized, or required to violate any traffic laws and regulations in order to reach a prescribed destination or to complete an official assignment. Metropolitan Nashville Police Department El Protector AdVisorY Board Application [Scanned Image - Metropolitan Nashville Police Department El Protector AdVisorY Board Application ] Miranda Warning English/Spanish MIRANDA WARNING You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in court. You have the right to consult with an attorney and have an attorney present during questioning. If you cannot afford an attorney, one can be provided to you before questioning at no cost. Do you understand these rights? With these rights in mind, do you wish to speak to me now? ADVERTENCIA MIRANDA Usted tiene el derecho de permanecer callado sin hace declaración alguna. Cualquier declaración que usted haga, podrá usarse en un tribunal como evidencia en su contra. Usted tiene el derecho de tener presente un abogado para aconsejarle previo a y durante cualquier interrogación. Si usted no tiene recursos para contratar a un abogado, tiene el derecho de que se le nombre un abogado para aconsejarle sin coste. ¿Usted entiende estos derechos? ¿Con estos derechos en mente, usted desea hablar conmigo ahora? source: http://www.lexisnexis.com/lawenforcement Commonly Translated DocUments Commonly Translated DocUments Agency documents are listed under the translated languages encountered. The availability of documents listed here are as reported to the VERA Institute of Justice and have not been verified. Languages Booking Procedures Call For Police Assistance/911 Consent And Waiver Forms Detainee Visitation Procedures Domestic Violence Information --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Alaska Native Alaska State Troopers Amharic Metropolitan PD, DC Arabic Lowell PD, MA Houston PD, TX Bosnian Boise PD, ID Boise PD, ID Cambodian Fresno PD, CA Fresno PD, CA Chinese Fresno PD, CA Fresno PD, CA LAPD, CA Howard County PD, MD Lowell PD, MA San Francisco PD, CA Metropolitan PD, DC Quincy PD, MA San Francisco PD, CA Seattle PD, WA Dutch Fresno PD, CA Fresno PD, CA Eritrean Seattle PD, WA French Virginia Beach PD, VA Fresno PD, CA Fresno PD, CA Virginia Beach PD, VA Lowell PD, MA Metropolitan PD, DC Virginia Beach PD, VA Languages Booking Procedures Call For Police Assistance/911 Consent And Waiver Forms Detainee Visitation Procedures Domestic Violence Information --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- German Fresno PD, CA Fresno PD, CA Greek Fresno PD, CA Fresno PD, CA Haitian Creole Lowell PD, MA Miami PD, FL Fort Lauderdale PD, FL Miami PD, FL Miami Beach PD, FL Miami Beach PD, FL North Miami Beach PD, FL Hindi/Urdu Fresno PD, CA Fresno PD, CA Lowell PD, MA Hmong Fresno PD, CA Fresno PD, CA Lowell PD, MA Italian Fresno PD, CA Fresno PD, CA Japanese Fresno PD, CA Fresno PD, CA LAPD, CA Khmer Lowell PD, MA Korean Fairfax County PD, VA Fairfax County PD, VA LAPD, CA Fresno PD, CA Fresno PD, CA Lowell PD, MA Houston PD, TX Metropolitan PD, DC Seattle PD, WA Languages Booking Procedures Call For Police Assistance/911 Consent And Waiver Forms Detainee Visitation Procedures Domestic Violence Information --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Lao Storm Lake PD, IA Elmwood Park PD, NJ Storm Lake PD, IA Storm Lake PD, IA Seattle PD, WA Oromo Seattle PD, WA Polish Palatine PD, IL Chicago PD, IL Chicago PD, IL Chicago PD, IL Lowell PD, MA Palatine PD, IL Portuguese City of Everett PD, MA City of Everett PD, MA City of Everett PD, MA City of Everett PD, MA Milford PD, MA Fresno PD, CA Fresno PD, CA Lowell PD, MA Milford PD, MA Russian Virginia Beach PD, VA Fresno PD, CA Alaska State Troopers Virginia Beach PD, VA Lowell PD, MA Fresno PD, CA San Francisco PD, CA San Francisco PD, CA Virginia Beach PD, VA Somali Seattle PD, WA Roma PD, TX St. Paul PD, MN St. Paul PD, MN Lowell PD, MA Languages Booking Procedures Call For Police Assistance/911 Consent And Waiver Forms Detainee Visitation Procedures Domestic Violence Information --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Spanish* Hartford PD, CT Hartford PD, CT Hartford PD, CT Hartford PD, CT NYPD, NY New Mexico State Police Las Vegas Metro PD, NV Las Vegas Metro PD, NV Las Vegas Metro PD, NV Oceanside PD, CA New Mexico State Police New Mexico State Police New Mexico State Police OK Highway Patrol, OK NYPD, NY New Mexico State Police NYPD, NY Oceanside PD, CA NYPD, NY Oklahoma Highway Patrol, OK Oklahoma Highway Patrol, OK Oklahoma Highway Patrol, OK Oceanside PD, CA Tagalog San Francisco PD, CA San Francisco PD, CA LAPD, CA Seattle PD, WA Vietnamese Arlington PD, TX Arlington PD, TX Fairfax County PD, VA Fairfax County PD, VA Fresno PD, CA Fresno PD, CA Lowell PD, MA Houston PD, TX Metropolitan PD, DC San Francisco PD, CA San Francisco PD, CA Santa Ana PD, CA Santa Ana PD, CA Seattle PD, WA *This is a selected sample of agencies with Spanish documents and is not exhaustive of all the agencies assessed. Commonly Translated DocUments Commonly Translated DocUments How To File Complaints How To Access Miranda Warnings Notice Of Rights Outreach Materials Criminal Incident Against Police Language Services Reports ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Alaska State Troopers Alaska State Troopers ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Metropolitan PD, DC Metropolitan PD, DC Metropolitan PD, DC ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Lowell PD, MA Lowell PD, MA Houston PD, TX Lowell PD, MA Houston PD, TX Lowell PD, MA Lowell PD, MA ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Boise PD, ID Boise PD, ID Boise PD, ID Boise PD, ID ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Fresno PD, CA Fresno PD, CA Fresno PD, CA Fresno PD, CA Fresno PD, CA ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Fresno PD, CA Fresno PD, CA Fresno PD, CA Fresno PD, CA Fresno PD, CA Fresno PD, CA LAPD, CA Lowell PD, MA LAPD, CA Lowell PD, MA Howard County PD, MD Lowell PD, MA Metropolitan PD, DC Lowell PD, MA Metropolitan PD, DC San Francisco PD, CA Metropolitan PD, DC San Francisco PD, CA Seattle PD, WA Quincy PD, MA Seattle PD, WA Seattle PD, WA ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Fresno PD, CA Fresno PD, CA Fresno PD, CA Fresno PD, CA Fresno PD, CA ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Seattle PD, WA Seattle PD, WA Seattle PD, WA Seattle PD, WA ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Fresno PD, CA Fresno PD, CA Fresno PD, CA Fresno PD, CA Fresno PD, CA Fresno PD, CA Lowell PD, MA Lowell PD, MA Lowell PD, MA Lowell PD, MA Lowell PD, MA Metropolitan PD, DC Metropolitan PD, DC Virginia Beach PD, VA Metropolitan PD, DC Virginia Beach PD, VA ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Fresno PD, CA Fresno PD, CA Fresno PD, CA Fresno PD, CA Fresno PD, CA ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Fresno PD, CA Fresno PD, CA Fresno PD, CA Fresno PD, CA Fresno PD, CA ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Fort Lauderdale PD, FL Fort Lauderdale PD, FL Fort Lauderdale PD, FL Fort Lauderdale PD, FL Fort Lauderdale PD, FL Lowell PD, MA Lowell PD, MA Lowell PD, MA Lowell PD, MA Lowell PD, MA Miami PD, FL Miami PD, FL Miami PD, FL Miami Beach PD, FL Miami PD, FL Miami Beach PD, FL Miami Beach PD, FL North Miami Beach PD, FL North Miami Beach PD, FL ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Fresno PD, CA Fresno PD, CA Fresno PD, CA Fresno PD, CA Fresno PD, CA Fresno PD, CA Lowell PD, MA Lowell PD, MA Lowell PD, MA Lowell PD, MA Lowell PD, MA ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Fresno PD, CA Fresno PD, CA Fresno PD, CA Fresno PD, CA Fresno PD, CA Fresno PD, CA Lowell PD, MA Lowell PD, MA Lowell PD, MA Lowell PD, MA Lowell PD, MA ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Fresno PD, CA Fresno PD, CA Fresno PD, CA Fresno PD, CA Fresno PD, CA ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Fresno PD, CA Fresno PD, CA Fresno PD, CA Fresno PD, CA Fresno PD, CA LAPD, CA LAPD, CA ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Lowell PD, MA Lowell PD, MA Lowell PD, MA Lowell PD, MA Lowell PD, MA ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Fairfax County PD, VA Fairfax County PD, VA Fairfax County PD, VA Fairfax County PD, VA Fairfax County PD, VA Fresno PD, CA Fresno PD, CA Fresno PD, CA Fresno PD, CA Fresno PD, CA Fresno PD, CA LAPD, CA Lowell PD, MA Houston PD, TX Lowell PD, MA Houston PD, TX Lowell PD, MA Metropolitan PD, DC LAPD, CA Lowell PD, MA Metropolitan PD, DC Seattle PD, WA Lowell PD, MA Metropolitan PD, DC Seattle PD, WA Seattle PD, WA Seattle PD, WA ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Seattle PD, WA Seattle PD, WA Seattle PD, WA Storm Lake PD, IA Seattle PD, WA Storm Lake PD, IA Storm Lake PD, IA Storm Lake PD, IA ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Seattle PD, WA Seattle PD, WA Seattle PD, WA Seattle PD, WA ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chicago PD, IL Lowell PD, MA Lowell PD, MA Lowell PD, MA Chicago PD, IL Lowell PD, MA Palatine PD, IL Palatine PD, IL Lowell PD, MA ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Fresno PD, CA Fresno PD, CA City of Everett PD, MA City of Everett PD, MA Fresno PD, CA Fresno PD, CA Lowell PD, MA Lowell PD, MA Fresno PD, CA Fresno PD, CA Lowell PD, MA Lowell PD, MA Lowell PD, MA Milford PD, MA Milford PD, MA ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Fresno PD, CA Fresno PD, CA Alaska State Troopers Alaska State Troopers Fresno PD, CA Fresno PD, CA Lowell PD, MA Lowell PD, MA Fresno PD, CA Fresno PD, CA Lowell PD, MA San Francisco PD, CA San Francisco PD, CA Lowell PD, MA Lowell PD, MA Virginia Beach PD, VA San Francisco PD, CA Virginia Beach PD, VA ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Seattle PD, WA Seattle PD, WA St. Paul PD, MN Lowell PD, MA Seattle PD, WA St. Paul PD, MN St. Paul PD, MN Lowell PD, MA Roma PD, TX St. Paul PD, MN Lowell PD, MA Lowell PD, MA Roma PD, TX Lowell PD, MA ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hartford PD, CT Hartford PD, CT Hartford PD, CT Hartford PD, CT Hartford PD, CT Las Vegas Metro PD, NV New Mexico State Police Las Vegas Metro PD, NV Las Vegas Metro PD, NV Las Vegas Metro PD, NV Lexington Division NYPD, NY Lexington Division Lexington Division Metro Nashville PD, TN of Police, KY of Police, KY of Police, KY Metro Nashville PD, TN Oceanside PD, CA Metro Nashville PD, TN New Mexico State Police New Mexico State Police New Mexico State Police OK Highway Patrol, OK New Mexico State Police NYPD, NY NYPD, NY NYPD, NY NYPD, NY Oceanside PD, CA Oceanside PD, CA Oceanside PD, CA Oceanside PD, CA Oklahoma City PD, OK Oklahoma City PD, OK Oklahoma City PD, OK Oklahoma City PD, OK OK Highway Patrol, OK OK Highway Patrol, OK ` OK Highway Patrol, OK ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- LAPD, CA San Francisco PD, CA LAPD, CA Seattle PD, WA San Francisco PD, CA Seattle PD, WA San Francisco PD, CA Seattle PD, WA Seattle PD, WA ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Arlington PD, TX Fairfax County PD, VA Arlington PD, TX Arlington PD, TX Arlington PD, TX Fairfax County PD, VA Fresno PD, CA Fairfax County PD, VA Fairfax County PD, VA Fairfax County PD, VA Fresno PD, CA Lowell PD, MA Fresno PD, CA Fresno PD, CA Fresno PD, CA Lowell PD, MA Metropolitan PD, DC Houston PD, TX Houston PD, TX Houston PD, TX Metropolitan PD, DC San Francisco PD, CA Lowell PD, MA Lowell PD, MA Lowell PD, MA San Francisco PD, CA Seattle PD, WA San Francisco PD, CA Santa Ana PD, CA Metropolitan PD, DC Seattle PD, WA Santa Ana PD, CA Seattle PD, WA Seattle PD, WA ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- AppenDix II Agencies Assessed and ResoUrces This section consists of the complete list of agencies assessed and figures that illustrate some of the attributes of those agencies. It also includes additional resources related to language access, including useful publications and web sites. 55 Figure 1: Type and Size of Agencies Assessed 55 Figure 2: Frequency of Contact with LEP Individuals 55 Figure 3: How Are Agencies Bridging the Language Divide? 56 Figure 4: Agencies Offering Bilingual Pay Incentives 56 Figure 5: Agencies with LEP Policy 56 Figure 6: Agencies Offering Formal Training on Language Access 57 Complete List of Agencies that Participated in the Assessment 62 Publications and Useful Web Sites FigUres [Chart] Figure 1: Type and size of agencies assessed [Chart] Figure 2: Frequency of contact with LeP individuals [Chart] Figure 3: how are agencies bridging the Language divide? [Chart] Figure 4: agencies offering bilingual Pay incentives [Chart] Figure 5: agencies with LeP Policy [Chart] Figure 6: agencies offering Formal training on Language access Agencies Assessed [Chart of Agencies Assessed - 5 Pages] ResoUrces PUblications ------------ Asian American Justice Center and Mexican American Legal and Educational Defense Fund. Language Rights: An Integration Agenda for Immigrant Communities: A Proactive Agenda to Assist Newcomers and English Language Learners. washington, dc: asian american justice center and mexican american Legal and educational defense Fund, 2007, http://www. advancingequality.org/files/Language_rights_briefing_book. pdf. Bretschneider, Stuart, Frederick j. marc-aurele jr., and jiannan wu. “‘best Practices’ research: a methodical guide for the Perplexed.” Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory 15, no. 2 (2005): 307-323. Curtis, Natasha. Language Assistance for Law Enforcement. seattle, wa: national association of judiciary interpreters and translators, 2006, http://www.najit.org/documents/Lawenforcement200609.pdf. Heivilin, Donna. Best Practices Methodology: A New Approach for Improving Government Operations. washington, dc: u.s. general accounting office, 1995, http://www.gao.gov/ archive/1995/ns95154.pdf. Kathman, Thomas e., and Time Cchesser. “Latino academy.” The Police Chief 72, no. 6 (2005), http://policechiefmagazine. org/magazine/index.cfm?fuseaction=display_arch&article_ id=616&issue_id=62005. Khashu, Anita, Robin Busch, and Zainab Latif. Building Strong Police-Immigrant Community Relations: Lessons from a New York City Project. new York: VERA Institute of Justice, 2005, http://www.VERA.org/publication_pdf/300_564.pdf. KKhashu, Anita, and Cari Almo. Translating Justice: A Guide for New York City’s Justice and Public Safety Agencies to Improve Access for Residents with Limited English Proficiency. new York: VERA Institute of Justice, 2005, http://www.VERA.org/ publication_pdf/342_619.pdf. Moy, Jones, and Brent Archibald. “reaching english-as-asecond- Language communities: talking with the Police.” The Police Chief 72, no. 6 (2005), http://policechiefmagazine. org/magazine/index.cfm?fuseaction=display_arch&article_ id=614&issue_id=62005. Orrick, W. Dwayne. Best Practices Guide: Developing a Police Department Policy-Procedure Manual. alexandria, va: international association of chiefs of Police, http://www.theiacp.org/portals/o/pdfs/publications/ bp+policyprocedures.pdf. Overman, Sam, and Kathy Boyd. “best Practices research and Post-bureaucratic reform.” Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory 4, no. 1 (1994): 69. Rahman, Insha, Joe Hirsch, and Susan Shah. Overcoming Language Barriers in the Criminal Justice System: Can Language Assistance Technology Help? new York: VERA institute of justice, 2007, http://www.VERA.org/publication_pdf/401_779.pdf. Roat, Cynthia. How to Choose and Use a Language Agency. woodland hills, ca: the california endowment, 2003, http:// www.calendow.org/uploadedFiles/how_to_choose_use_language_agency.pdf. Schofield, Regina, and Michael Alston. “Accommodating Limited English Proficiency in Law Enforcement.” CALEA Update Magazine 90 (Feb. 2006), http://www.calea.org/online/ newsletter/no90/limitedenglish.htm. Shah, Susan, Insha Rahman, and anita Khashu. Overcoming Language Barriers: Solutions for Law Enforcement. new York: VERA Institute of Justice, 2007, http://www.VERA.org/ publication_pdf/382_735.pdf. Shah, Susan, John Welter, and Michael A. Aquino. Breaking Through the Langauge Barrier: Promsing Practices from the Field. Fairfax, va: commission on accreditation for Law enforcement agencies, 2008, http://www.calea.org/online/ newsletter/no96/breakingbarriers.htm. State of Ohio Ooffice of Criminal Justice services. “I Speak” Language Identification Guide. columbus, oh: State of Ohio Office of Criminal Justice Services, 2006, http://www.ocjs.ohio. gov/Publications/Pocket%20card.pdf. Summit County Sheriff Office and City of Lorain Police Department. Resource Document for Law Enforcement: Interpretation and Translation Services. updated, http://www.co.summit.oh.us/ sheriff/LeP.pdf. Turner, Richard. “why we need empirical information on best Practices.” Cross Talk. 2004. U.S. Census Bbureau, Accessing and Using Language Data from the Census Bureau. handout from the 2008 Federal interagency conference on Limited english Proficiency. washington, dc: U.S. Census Bureau, 2008, http://www.lep.gov/resources/2008_ conference_materials/censusassessingandusingLangdata.pdf. U.S. Department of Justice, Executive Order 13166 Limited English Proficiency Resource Document: Tips and Tools from the Field. washington, dc: U.S. Department of Justice, civil rights division, 2004, http://www.lep.gov/resources/tips_and_ tools-9-21-04.htm. U.S. Department of Justice, Guidance to Federal Financial Assistance Recipients Regarding Title VI Prohibition Against National Origin Discrimination Affecting Limited English Proficient Persons. washington, dc: u.s. department of justice, 2002, http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/cor/lep/ dojFinLePFrjun182002.pdf. U.S. Department of Justice, Planning Tool: Considerations for Creation of a Language Assistance Policy and Implementation Plan for Addressing Limited English Proficiency in a Department of Corrections. washington, dc: U.S. Department of Justice, civil rights division, 2006, http://www.lep.gov/LeP_corrections_Planning_tools.htm. U.S. Department of Justice, Planning Tool: Considerations for Creation of a Language Assistance Policy and Implementation Plan for Addressing Limited English Proficiency in a Law Enforcement Agency. washington, dc: U.S. Department of Justice, civil rights division, 2006, http://www.lep.gov/Law_enforcement_Planning_tool.htm. Venkatraman, Bharathi a. “Lost in translation: Limited english Proficient Populations and the Police.” The Police Chief 73, no. 4 (2006), http://policechiefmagazine.org/magazine/index. cfm?fuseaction=display_arch&article_id=861&issue_id=42006. VERA Institute of Justice, Translating Justice: A Spanish Glossary for New York City. new York: VERA Institute of Justice, 2007, http://www.VERA.org/publication_pdf/395_783.pdf. VERA Institute of Justice, Translating Justice: A Traditional Chinese Glossary for New York City. new York: VERA Institute of Justice, 2007, http://www.VERA.org/publication_pdf/396_775.pdf. WeB Sites --------- Federal interagency working group on Limited english Proficiency http://www.lep.gov/ memorandum of agreement between DOJ and the Town of Mattawa, washington http://www.lep.gov/resources/2008_conference_materials/ mattawamoa.pdf Migration Policy Institute, Language Portal: a translation and Interpretation Digital Library http://www.migrationinformation.org/integration/language_portal/ National Health Law Program’s Online Library of Language Access Resources http://www.healthlaw.org/library/folder.56882-Language_access_ resources One Example of a Plan for a Law Enforcement Agency http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/about/ocr/pdfs/lep_sample.pdf Resolution for the Provision of interpreter services, town of mattawa, washington http://www.lep.gov/resources/2008_conference_materials/ mattawaresolution.pdf sPonsors -------- office of community oriented Policing services, U.S. Department of Justice http://www.cops.usdoj.gov/ VERA Institute of Justice http://www.VERA.org Suggested Citation susan shah and rodolfo estrada. Bridging the Language Divide: Promising Practices for Law Enforcement. new York: VERA Institute of Justice, 2009. available at www.VERA.org and www.cops.usdoj.gov/. © VERA Institute of Justice 2009. all rights reserved. This project was supported by grant number 2007-cK-wx-K019 awarded by the office of community oriented Policing services, U.S. Department of Justice. the opinions contained herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice or the VERA Institute of Justice. references to specific companies, products, or services should not be considered an endorsement by the authors, the U.S. Department of Justice, or the VERA institute of justice. rather, the references are illustrations to supplement discussion of the issues. The internet references cited in this publication were valid as of the published date of this document. given that urLs and web sites are in constant flux, neither the authors, the coPs office, nor the VERA Institute of Justice can vouch for their current validity. Edited by jill Pope Design by Jeanne Criscola | Criscola Design Photo credits: Photos were provided by the law enforcement agencies profiled in this report. we would like to acknowledge Diana Araujo, Alex Barnard, Kathy Ho, and Michael Motto for their work on this report. Copies are available from the coPs office at U.S. Department of Justice, office of community oriented Policing services, 1100 vermont avenue, n.w., washington dc 20530, 800.421.6770. an electronic version is posted on the coPs office web site, www.cops.usdoj.gov, and the VERA web site, www.VERA.org. For more information on VERA’s translating justice project or other technical advice on overcoming language barriers, visit www.VERA.org/translatingjustice or call VERA’s center on immigration and justice at 212.334.1300. the VERA Institute of Justice is an independent nonprofit organization that combines expertise in research, demonstration projects, and technical assistance to help leaders in government and civil society improve the systems people rely on for justice and safety. 233 broadway, 12th Floor tel: 212.334.1300 new York, nY 10279 Fax: 212.941.9407 www.VERA.org e030917192