Workforce Language Services

According to state estimates, there are about 97 different languages spoken in North Carolina.  While the police have adapted to working with a large number of Spanish-speakers, they have yet to do the same with native speakers of various other languages. 

The Guilford County Sheriff’s Department has received funding to purchase hand-held translation devices to bridge the language barrier between officers and residents.  The unfortunately named Phraselator will be used in an attempt to better serve North Carolina residents who speak increasingly varied languages.

If an officer, for instance, ever wanted to ask a suspect if he or she needed to use the restroom in Cantonese, the officer has been unable to do so – but that will change soon.

In order to use the device, an officer needs to know the language the person speaks, so Barnes said the devices’ real usefulness will probably be when deputies are serving papers, conducting evictions or carrying out similar day-to-day activities.

Barnes has been making moves to address the county’s language issues for a while; for instance, his department pays a 5 percent salary premium to any officer fluent in Spanish, and it offers a free course to those who wish to learn Spanish.

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