In most cases, cops and court officials who already speak Spanish are teaching their colleagues basic phrases to help them through emergency situations. Robert Morales, who works in the Annapolis, Maryland, police department, tutors officers during their lunch hours. He says his "me Tarzan, you Jane" approach allows officers to put the language into practice after just a few lessons.
But peace officers are mastering more than just how to yell, "Sueltalo!" (Drop it!). They are also learning about elements of the culture immigrants have brought with them from, say, Mexico or El Salvador--which includes a general distrust of police. And they are being taught phrases that calm as well as command. The hope is that they will be able to take time-sensitive statements from witnesses without having to rely on bilingual bystanders.
"There's nothing more disheartening for someone than to call the police for help and then not understand them when they show up," says Lieutenant Greg Blankenship of the sheriff's office in Butler County, Ohio, where the Hispanic population rose by more than 50 percent during the 1990s.
In Durham, North Carolina, police officers in the domestic violence unit, which gets some 15 percent of its calls from Spanish speakers, are taking an immersion course at the University of North Carolina. The program includes 10 days in Guadalajara.
Other departments are offering enticements closer to home. Hillsboro, Oregon, police receive a 5 percent pay increase for being able to speak Spanish, and their brethren in Phoenix receive a $10 per hour bonus when they help someone in that language.
