Workforce Language Services

As the Spanish-speaking population of Mesa, AZ grows, the city’s police force struggles to adequately serve and communicate with the Latino community.  Mesa’s residents and officers both feel the frustration and fear that comes with not being able to communicate during criminal or emergency calls.  This article describes the tensions and difficulties city residents and officers face as Police Chief George Gascón explores ways to bridge the language barrier.

The language barrier threatens public safety by allowing criminals to escape before translators arrive on scene and by slowing down the time it takes to bring charges against lawbreakers.“Being able to provide good services to the citizens is the bottom line,” said Mesa Police Association president Fabian Cota. “The fact that officers can’t communicate with victims … kind of means they are receiving inferior service.”

And it’s not just the public that’s in danger.

The inability to communicate puts officers’ lives at risk, too.

Mesa police Chief George Gascón said he is exploring ways to increase the number of Spanish-speaking officers in the city, but budget constraints leave him with few options.

“We recognize it’s an urgent public safety need. Quite frankly we don’t have the luxury of saying, ‘Learn English,’” Gascón said.

“Sometimes communication is a two-way street. You need to have a mutual understanding and a mutual sensitivity.”