Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Editorial: Bridging the great divide

Given the choice between serving a population with whom they cannot communicate or speaking a second language, North Las Vegas Police officers are choosing communication.

As reported in the Las Vegas Sun on Monday, the department has started a series of meetings to help North Las Vegas' Hispanic residents learn more about their local police. U.S. Census figures show 87 percent of those living in the neighborhood near the Boys & Girls Club on East Carey Avenue -- the site of the first meeting in September -- are Hispanic. And about half of them speak little or no English, the figures show.

Census figures also show that 38 percent of North Las Vegas' residents are Hispanic, while the number of Spanish-speaking officers serving the city is just 18 out of 250, or 8 percent. Still, despite their relatively few numbers, these officers have chosen to communicate with residents in whatever language works.

It's a decision that police departments and other public agencies are making across the country as an increasing number of Spanish-speaking immigrants -- both legal and illegal -- continue to move to the United States for work and a better life. And that is part of an ongoing controversy about how far government should go in communicating with new residents who have not yet learned to speak English.

Learning English is the key to economic independence and success in America. Few immigrants would argue with that. But it is important to quickly help new residents understand what role the police play in their community and to help non-Hispanic officers understand the cultural differences among those they serve and protect.

There is no such thing as too much communication, especially when dealing with people who come from countries where human rights violations often are institutional. They must learn our police aren't to be feared. And officers here need to learn that in Hispanic culture speaking loudly isn't always arguing, and standing close isn't necessarily aggressive behavior.

It takes two to communicate. And when it comes to public safety issues, it may take a language other than English to fulfill that goal.

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