http://www.mdjonline.com/articles/2006/ ... 223652.txt

Monday, July 3, 2006

Hispanic relations a police priority

By Katie Fallon
Marietta Daily Journal Staff Writer

COBB COUNTY - As Cobb's Hispanic population continues to grow, police here are boosting efforts to foster positive interaction with the Spanish-speaking community.

Cobb County Police Department's Lt. Gil Padilla helps lead the department's efforts to increase communication with the Spanish-speaking community. Of approximately 15 officers who fluently speak Spanish, Padilla is the only qualified interpreter. Other officers are spread across the county's different precincts and units to most effectively apply their language skills in the field.

The U.S. Census Bureau estimated that as of 2004, approximately 10 percent of Cobb County's population is Hispanic or Latino, which amounts to about 66,380 Hispanic residents.

Cobb County Police Department spokesman Cpl. Dan Pierce said Spanish-speaking officers are located throughout the department and in its Crimes Against Persons and Anti-Gang units.

In emergencies, the department often uses a paid interpreter service that allows 911 operators to use an over-the-phone translator to assist non-English-speaking callers. In the field, Pierce said, there are times when officers have to be called in from other locations to help Spanish-speaking residents.

"Most of the time, we can find a resource pretty readily," Pierce said. "We're not rich in those resources, but we're able to get by."

A 26-year veteran of policing, with 15 years spent with Cobb police, Padilla helped start a Spanish-language instruction class for Cobb police officers. In 1993, the program began with three days of "survival Spanish," instruction, but now, it includes 40 hours of instruction. It began, Padilla said, when the Hispanic population started to boom in Cobb during the '90s.

"When I came here in April of 1991, I started to see at that point a lot of construction going on in Cobb County," Padilla said. "Because of the boom, we started seeing a major influx of Latinos, the majority of them Mexican, who came here to work. The department immediately saw a need for Spanish speaking officers and a need to put a program together to teach our officers a basic, survival Spanish course."

The Spanish-speaking community's trust of interaction with police on the street has improved quite a bit over the years. Padilla said while the police department still has difficulties recruiting officers who speak Spanish fluently, it has still been able to greatly improve the community's trust.

"There has been a big interest on both parts to communicate and help each other," Padilla said.

Marietta resident Rosalina Sanchez can attest to the lingering mistrust of police in the Spanish-speaking community as well as the department's efforts to help residents understand that police cannot arrest residents on immigration violations for purposes of eventual deportation.

A native of Mexico, Ms. Sanchez said she has learned to speak English, but many of her family members and neighbors have not. She said by watching the news and reading newspapers, she has learned how different police are in Cobb than in her native country.

"The police, for the most part are much nicer here and are not out to start trouble," Ms. Sanchez said. "Many people I know are scared to even call the police, but I try to tell them that the police here cannot deport us."

Although Ms. Sanchez would not say if she were in the United States legally or illegally, she said she feels many people don't trust Cobb's large Hispanic population.

"We're not all criminals coming here to take away jobs and have a lot of babies so we can go on welfare," Ms. Sanchez said.

Padilla said that, indeed, some undocumented residents are afraid of police for fear of being deported.

"Based on my experience, that mistrust has been here since the '90s, but it's not here as much anymore," Padilla said.

Lately, the department has tried to increase its communication with the Hispanic community in Acworth's Proctor's Landing. Padilla said for the past five years Lake Allatoona Park has been a favorite gathering places for area Hispanics on weekends, holidays and especially in the summer months.

The problem, Padilla and Pierce said, is that the parking at Proctor's Landing fills up quickly and those visiting, many of whom don't speak English, cannot read the signs prohibiting parking on the residential street leading to the park. Consequently, many visitors end up parking in front of people's house and even in residents' driveways.

In the coming weeks, though, Padilla said police hope to smooth relations between park visitors and neighbors.

"One thing we are going to try and do to better communicate with park visitors is to hand out flyers," Padilla said. "But one thing we don't want to do is scare people away just because the police are there."

With so much attention being paid lately to new immigration legislation and laws, Padilla said tension has increase somewhat. He said police try to convey that they cannot enforce federal laws and that are required to protect everyone.

"We are public servants and we are there to protect and serve," Padilla said.

Similarly, Pierce said the department has not received any special direction as far as what it is supposed to do in response to the recent legislation changes.

Sweeping legislation that state Sen. Chip Rogers (R-Woodstock) sponsored during the last legislative session doesn't take effect until 2007. Meanwhile, efforts to reform immigration laws nationally have stalled in the U.S. House.

kfallon@mdjonline.com