Linguistic and Cultural Training for Police in Chicago and London

Introduction: Two Approaches to Culturally Sensitive Policing

Culturally sensitive policing in new immigrant communities requires a two-pronged educational approach on the part of the police, argue James L. Mazurek and Bruce Malin in their article "Today's Policing within the Hispanic Community in Chicago," and the British journalist Kate Hilpern in her Independent article "Speaking the Language." Both articles contend, first, that police departments must actively recruit bilingual officers to communicate effectively with alienated immigrant communities in locations where containing crime has been difficult. Recruiting bilingual officers increases the likelihood that crime will be reported and reduces the overall tolerance of crime within the community. Second, the police force must act as positive role models and educators to the community, conveying daily the message that the justice system can have a positive impact on the lives of immigrants.

Examining how the United States has addressed the needs of non-English speakers — compared with other nations such as England — provides an interesting comparative case study. Community-sensitive policing is an issue not only in the United States but worldwide.

Policing Chicago's Hispanic Community

According to Mazurek and Malin, policing the Hispanic population in West Chicago — which represented approximately 30% of the total neighborhood population according to 1990 census estimates — is difficult. Language barriers have created obstacles for Chicago Hispanics seeking to assimilate into American culture. Because of these barriers and widespread poverty, Chicago's Hispanic population, which is almost entirely legal and longstanding (most residents are the children of immigrants who arrived during the 1940s wave of migration to the area), has remained hostile toward police and reluctant to report crime. Instead, the preferred method of dealing with crime has been to rely upon the community rather than larger social institutions such as the police to enforce order (Mazurek & Malin 1991: 9).

To improve community relations, the Chicago police implemented a cultural outreach and educational program, beginning with cultural orientation of the force in Hispanic culture and circumstances. There was also an outreach campaign using Spanish-speaking officers directed at the Hispanic community. The police department sent representatives to Hispanic community meetings and cultural affairs centers to create a positive and non-threatening presence in the community. In later months, the department followed up with what it called a "walk and talk" program, in which officers made friendly contact during their shifts by visiting Hispanic businesses and their patrons (Mazurek & Malin 1991: 12).

The Independent's Kate Hilpern, in "Speaking the Language," reports a similar campaign in Great Britain. However, in contrast to the Chicago program — which deploys current officers in a more culturally aware manner by educating them and increasing their positive, visible presence in the community — the London Metropolitan Police chose to focus more heavily on recruiting new officers. For example, London police embarked upon an aggressive campaign to foster better community relations with the Cypriot community by favoring applicants with the necessary linguistic skills. Officials found that "when they got those officers, the engagement with these communities was tremendous, which then reflected in their ability to fight crime" (Hilpern 2004).

London's Linguistic Recruitment Strategy

There has also been an attempt to increase the number of non-white officers rather than simply deploy existing minority officers in greater numbers to affected communities. One of the most controversial aspects of the London plan is the fast-tracking of applicants who speak languages used by ethnic minorities into the police service under a positive discrimination policy. This recruitment system has been defended by reference to successful campaigns in the United States, including the one implemented in Chicago described by Mazurek and Malin. The director of recruitment stated: "If we can't communicate clearly with the general public, we can't do our job as well as we could otherwise" (Hilpern 2004).

One challenge in London that was not present in West Chicago — though it certainly exists in other American communities — is that within the large metropolitan city there are "between 35 and 350 languages spoken," necessitating a focus "on the top six to ten ethnic-minority languages spoken in the capital" (Hilpern 2004). The London police director noted: "We welcome any language [applicant], particularly if it's currently under-represented" (Hilpern 2004). The human impact of this policy was captured by one minority officer who speaks several languages: "I've seen cases where a victim will hardly speak to a white officer, and when they see me, they show relief" (Hilpern 2004). This kind of police-community trust is precisely what both programs sought to build.