NewsHound
09-14-2008, 04:32 PM
The Census Bureau estimated in 2006 that 14 percent of the population of Lee County speaks only Spanish - more than 77,000 people. No wonder Spanish-speaking police officers and other emergency personnel are in demand.
Lots of agencies are faced with the challenge of communicating with people who speak little or no English.
It's controversial. Many English-speakers believe newcomers should simply learn English, and should not be catered to if they don't, by government or business.
We believe newcomers have an obligation to learn English for their own good and the unity of America, and that most are eager to do so, given the chance. Expanding English instruction for speakers of other tongues is a major challenge, and should be a high priority.
But in the case of emergencies, communication can be a matter of life or death, or of catching a violent criminal. No time to assimilate when the baby's turning blue or a mugger's to be pursued.
With this many people speaking only Spanish, agencies need more bilingual officers. It's a practical question of more effective law enforcement and getting crooks off the street who threaten all of us.
Aggressive recruiting in recent years has increased the number of bilingual police officers, but the agencies still lag, given the growing Hispanic population and the increasing numbers affected by crime. At the sheriff's office, about 90 of 1,510 employees speak Spanish, 11 of 252 at the Cape Coral Police Department and 13 of 200 at the Fort Myers Police Department.
Spanish speakers are assimilating rapidly, if by assimilation one means learning English and embracing America's opportunities and obligations.
But in the meantime, common sense demands that emergency agencies reach out to speakers of Spanish and other foreign languages.
By the way, the myth that this was never done in the past is dear to people who scoff at such efforts. In fact, the arrival of immigrants in America has always resulted in the hiring of cops and others who could talk to them.
Source Southwest Florida's News-Press, 9/9/2008
Lots of agencies are faced with the challenge of communicating with people who speak little or no English.
It's controversial. Many English-speakers believe newcomers should simply learn English, and should not be catered to if they don't, by government or business.
We believe newcomers have an obligation to learn English for their own good and the unity of America, and that most are eager to do so, given the chance. Expanding English instruction for speakers of other tongues is a major challenge, and should be a high priority.
But in the case of emergencies, communication can be a matter of life or death, or of catching a violent criminal. No time to assimilate when the baby's turning blue or a mugger's to be pursued.
With this many people speaking only Spanish, agencies need more bilingual officers. It's a practical question of more effective law enforcement and getting crooks off the street who threaten all of us.
Aggressive recruiting in recent years has increased the number of bilingual police officers, but the agencies still lag, given the growing Hispanic population and the increasing numbers affected by crime. At the sheriff's office, about 90 of 1,510 employees speak Spanish, 11 of 252 at the Cape Coral Police Department and 13 of 200 at the Fort Myers Police Department.
Spanish speakers are assimilating rapidly, if by assimilation one means learning English and embracing America's opportunities and obligations.
But in the meantime, common sense demands that emergency agencies reach out to speakers of Spanish and other foreign languages.
By the way, the myth that this was never done in the past is dear to people who scoff at such efforts. In fact, the arrival of immigrants in America has always resulted in the hiring of cops and others who could talk to them.
Source Southwest Florida's News-Press, 9/9/2008