Thread: Illegal alien outreach program

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.

the american taxpayers deserve to be protected. Illegals deserve to be deported without appeals.

Here is a follow-up story.
-------------------------------------------------------------------

http://www.courierpress.com/news/2007/f ... h-program/

Latino Outreach Program - Area residents huddle with police
By KATE BRASER
Courier & Press staff writer 464-7622 or braserk@courierpress.com
Originally published 12:00 a.m., February 12, 2007
Updated 11:10 p.m., February 11, 2007


Photo by Bob Gwaltney

Alfonso E. Vidal, 7, and his electronic game are the center of attention at a police outreach program at Nativity Church on Sunday. In an effort to increase communication among the Latino community, Evansville police explained procedures and answered questions.
Ten minutes before the city's first-ever Latino Outreach Program meeting began Sunday, Evansville police Sgt. Karla Larmore and officer Kevin Corbin wondered aloud whether anyone would show up as they set up tables and chairs in the Nativity Church cafeteria. The 1 p.m. start time ticked by. No one.

Local media began to arrive and set up their cameras but for a few more minutes it looked like the meeting might not happen.

Then just before 1:30 p.m., it began: Residents trickled in.

Soon, nearly every table had occupants sitting and waiting to learn about city police services and policies.

The goal of the ongoing program is to help the city's growing Latino population better understand the way local government agencies work.

Evansville police officers presented the program in English and Spanish.

During Sunday's meeting, Latino residents learned about the history of the Evansville Police Department and the services the department provides. They were given lists of important phone numbers and a community alert written in English and Spanish about a string of armed robberies in recent weeks where Hispanic residents were targeted.

By the time the officers got through with their presentation and were ready to answer audience questions, many of the 50 people attending began moving closer to the front rows of the cafeteria.

Questions residents wanted answered concerned openings with the department and when it is OK for city police officers to stop Hispanic residents and ask them to show citizenship papers.

Larmore said the only time city police officers can deal with immigration issues is when someone is wanted in a federal case or faces a felony charge.

"Basically we just enforce state statute and local ordinance," Larmore said.

Corbin said future meetings likely will be held once a month. Potential topics include learning how to obtain legal documents, file complaints with the Police Department's internal affairs office, set up bank accounts or get an identification card.


Photo by Bob Gwaltney

Sgt. Karla Larmore of the Evansville Police Department answers questions from Pedro Alfaro after the Latino outreach program Sunday.
"We're here to help you learn how to get in tune with what other American citizens have," Corbin said. "But we need help from you all to find out what you need to know."

Pilar Tirado, the church's Hispanic coordinator, translated during the meeting. Tirado said the program was needed because many new Latino residents have lots of questions about how local law enforcement works.

"For the first meeting, this was really positive," Tirado said. "I could see as the meeting went on, people felt more comfortable asking the questions on their minds."

Nodding her head toward a line of people waiting to ask her questions, Tirado added, "But you can still see that there are some with questions they are still nervous to ask. That too will get better with time."

You should read the comments after the story. Some of these people defend the illegals. It is outrageous. But I bet all of these people that support these illegals have never even seen a Mexican, except on TV or when they go to the Mexican restaurant. They live on the other side of town in their little suburb or xburb in a pitiful little world. They're not the ones that will get their home broken into or their car stolen or their daughter raped. Because they dont live near it. But they want to force their political correctness on everyone. It's crap.

Welcome to Alipac enforcetheborder!

Yep! Around here, the supporters are a bunch of women that visit Dr. Feelgood. Seriously, they are so anesthetized they couldn't move fast, if their life depended on it. What do they know, they are so checked out and in a different reality.

Dixie