NLV Police offer hotline for Spansh-speaking residents

Jen Lawson

Friday, Aug. 12, 2005 | 8:25 a.m.

North Las Vegas Police are taking steps to tear down the language barrier between law enforcement and Spanish-speaking residents.

The goal of a new nonemergency telephone line for Spanish speakers, the Latino Community Connection Hotline, is to give callers -- regardless of their immigration status -- the chance to communicate in Spanish with police about graffiti problems, blight, abandoned vehicles and other quality-of-life issues.

"Our goal is to establish a partnership and open lines of communication with the Latino community," North Las Vegas Police Chief Mark Paresi said. "The hotline is an important part of our strategy because it gives Latinos a way to reach out in their own language."

The line is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and calls will be returned between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Thursday, by Soledad Garcia, a crime prevention specialist with the police department.

The Hispanic population in North Las Vegas has grown to 46 percent, Garcia said, and it's as high as 86 percent in the older sections of the city.

"They are residents and they deserve all the services we can provide," she said. "We want to ensure that they can trust us."

But only 8 percent of North Las Vegas Police officers speak Spanish.

In addition to a 911 system for emergencies, the department also has a 311 line for nonemergency police matters. The Hispanic hotline is for calls that don't require a police report.

Andres Ramirez, a North Las Vegas community activist and member of the police chiefs' advisory committee, said the hotline is a positive step in improving relations between Hispanics and police.

"We have documented that there is a disconnect between the Hispanic population and the North Las Vegas Police Department," he said. "There are a lot of Spanish-speaking residents who want to find an avenue to report activities and communicate with police more effectively, but they might feel intimidated."

The department is also considering sending officers to the Spanish-speaking churches in the city so that residents can talk about problems in the neighborhoods in a nonthreatening environment.

"We will continue to look for other methods in improving the communication," Ramirez said. "It helps everybody and we can reduce crime. It just makes better sense."

The Latino Community Connection Hotline can be reached at (702) 633-1818.