NCJ Number
217441
Journal
Police Chief Volume: 74 Issue: 1 Dated: January 2007 Pages: 27-30
Date Published
January 2007
Length
4 pages
Annotation
This article explains how the Storm Lake Police Department (Iowa) has prepared its officers to deal with a diverse immigrant population that has been drawn to the city by employment opportunities.
Abstract
In just under 30 years, a rural town of mostly White, conservative residents has experienced an influx of Southeast Asians, Hispanics, Ethiopians, Somalians, and Sudanese. Storm Lake police officers experience some sort of language barrier in 33 percent of street contacts and 24 percent of station-house contacts with residents. The city has experienced a growth in its crime rate, and ethnic street gangs have proliferated. Gang members have relocated to Storm Lake from large urban centers in the United States and other countries. Other law-enforcement challenges are identity theft, forged documents, a transient population, and drug dealing. The Storm Lake Police Department (SLPD) has responded to the new demographics and law enforcement challenges by hiring multilingual community service officers, the creation of multilingual forms and street signs in Spanish and Lao, training in the diverse cultures of residents, and attendance at community meetings. The SLPD has also participated in the creation of a multilingual citizen academy and representation on local and statewide diversity committees and task forces. A list of volunteer interpreters for a variety of dialects is now available to officers. Officers have also become involved in off-duty community activities, such as helping new residents become familiar with the city and participating in church and community sports programs.