http://www.courierpress.com/news/2007/f ... o-latinos/

Police reach out to Latinos
By GAVIN LESNICK
Courier & Press staff writer 464-7449 or lesnickg@courierpress.com
Originally published 12:00 a.m., February 10, 2007
Updated 12:00 a.m., February 10, 2007

A new program created by the Evansville Police Department is aimed at eliminating barriers between police and the Latino community.

Evansville Police Sgt. Karla Larmore said the Latino Outreach Program, which debuts with an event Sunday afternoon, will help show Latino residents the policies and procedures of the department and demonstrate that police are there to help.

That, officials believe, is a misconception among some in the Latino community.

"We're getting a lot of feedback that people, from the cultures they were raised in, have an innate distrust of police," Larmore said. "And we're trying to break down some of those preconceived notions."

The first installment of the program is a luncheon at 1 p.m. Sunday at Nativity Church, 3635 Pollack Ave., after the church's Spanish service.

Larmore said Sunday's event, which will be offered in Spanish and English, will

include a rundown of the structure of the department and information on calling 911. Some people are unaware, she said, that the dispatch center has 24-hour access to translation services.

The motivation for this program came as police heard some victims in the Latino community were not reporting crimes because they feared police involvement, Larmore said.

Police officials believe that has become a significant problem, but one that can be solved through the outreach program.

"(We want to) let them know we are here to help, we're not contacting immigration and they're part of our community now," Larmore said. "And we certainly don't want people to not report crimes and not call us if they need help."

Larmore said the benefits of the program are twofold in that it shares information about the department and offers community members the chance to interact with officers in a positive environment.

"(It will) kind of get people accustomed to seeing us and to be comfortable with us," she said.

Department officials will also ask those in attendance Sunday what they would like to see in future programs, Larmore said, and that will help determine what the program focuses on in the future. The luncheons are scheduled to continue each month.

"We're kind of testing the waters here a little bit," Larmore said. "But as long as they want us and we have programs we can present, I'm sure we can keep it going."

Your Turn
Posted by lenniebriscoe on February 10, 2007 at 5:01 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Hola...

Posted by toeped on February 10, 2007 at 5:06 a.m. (Suggest removal)

"not contacting immigration", why not? I am all for imigration, legal immigration. If these people are here and are not legal then they are criminals and should be dealt with by whatever law enforcement finds them.

Posted by tspo on February 10, 2007 at 6:06 a.m. (Suggest removal)

There are soooo many things wrong with this story. "Their" culture...wake up! "They" are no longer in the "their" culture, you want to live here, assimilate into our culture. The language problem should be no problem...if you want to live here learn English, why are we spending millions, if not billions nationwide, on language assistance.
Not to mention the money being spent on this luncheon concept. Not contacting immigration, what if these immigrants are the illegal kind of immigrant? This is all PC hogwash. Until the last 20 years, all immigrants in the past were expected to learn our language and melt into our culture. Maybe one reason for not reporting crimes is fear of retribution within their own "community".

Posted by blue2golf on February 10, 2007 at 7:22 a.m. (Suggest removal)

"A new program created by the Evansville Police Department is aimed at eliminating barriers between police and the Latino community."

The only barriers I can see are the ones self erected by the Latino community. Running around shouting "Si su puede" while waving the Mexican flag shows me the lack of interest in assimilation. If they are here illegally, "si su puede" their behinds back to the real Latino community south of the border. (and fine their employers as well)

Posted by SGT_SHLITZ on February 10, 2007 at 7:24 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Perhaps the fine latino lad who hit the school bus will show up for the luncheon. If they are here illagally, they are criminals. They can break our other laws because they are living under the radar.