NCJ Number
138604
Date Published
1992
Length
5 pages
Annotation
This paper profiles the characteristics and benefits of Arlington County's (Virginia) Bilingual Ride-Along Program for Hispanic residents of the community.
Abstract
One out of six persons in Arlington County is of Hispanic descent, and this segment of the community has the greatest projected growth rate. Many Hispanic residents only speak the Spanish dialect of their native country. The Police Department's ability to hire bilingual officers is limited by employment competition with other local jurisdictions and Arlington County's 2-year college requirement for its officers; therefore, police officers and Hispanic citizens often cannot communicate and must rely on marginal translation assistance by a limited number of officers who have learned Spanish as a second language. The Bilingual Ride-Along Program was designed to enhance police- community relationships and cooperation, improve the quality of police service, and increase performance efficiency through accurate translation. Flyers that solicited bilingual volunteers for the program were distributed to local supermarkets, churches, civic groups, libraries, employment offices, and universities. Prospective participants are screened, selected, and supervised by a police manager. Supervisors assign each volunteer to a beat officer. Volunteers ride along in the cruiser as the officer performs community policing duties and responds to dispatched calls. The officers are responsible for the safety of the volunteers. As the need for Spanish translation arises, the officer transports the volunteer to the scene. At the end of the ride-along tour, the officer completes an evaluation form that focuses on the performance of the volunteer and documents the incidents in which the volunteer was involved. Since the beginning of the program, 25 volunteers have participated. some of the daily problems volunteers have helped address are directions for lost citizens, the resolution of civil disputes, and the provision of legal information. Volunteers have been particularly helpful in cases involving domestic violence, sexual assault, victim medical services, and traffic accidents. The program is meeting its original objectives.