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<br /> "well," 16% "not well," and 7% "not at all." This indicates that a minimum of 23% ofthe
<br /> County's residents, or 165,000 people, have some Ievel of difficulty communicating in English.
<br /> In light of this problem, the 2012-2013 San Mateo County Civil Grand Jury (Grand Jury) sought
<br /> to determine how the law enforcement officers of the 20 cities and towns in the County and the
<br /> County Sheriff's Office deal with communication obstacles that might prevent them from
<br /> effectively discharging their duties. The Grand Jury found that both the County's poiice
<br /> departments' an.d the Sheriff's Officeg are making credible efforts at recruiting, hiring, training,
<br /> and retaini.ng multilingual officers and support personnel.
<br /> The Grand Jury recommends that every policing agency in the County develop a written
<br /> policy/procedure for language access, subscribe to effective translation services, and actively
<br /> encourage language training for its personnel.
<br /> BACKGROUND
<br /> Whether it is a routine vehicle stop or a high-profile homicide investigation, law enforcement
<br /> - officers need to be able to communicate effectively to do their job. The size of the non-English
<br /> speaking population in the County presents a serious challenge for law enforcement to provide
<br /> effective policing programs while developing trust and cooperation in the communities they
<br /> serve. As the number of non-English speakers increases, so does the number of non-English
<br /> speaking residents who become witnesses to crime and even targets of crime. Because of
<br /> language difficulties, these crimes may go unreported. Impraved communications between
<br /> officers and citizens can improve upon this situation.
<br /> Several laws mandate that law enforcement agencies find ways to overcome language barriers.
<br /> Under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. §2000d et seq.), police agencies
<br /> receiving federal assistance must take reasonable steps to ensure that their services are
<br /> meaningfully accessible to those who do not speak English well.'° Additionally, California's
<br /> Dymally-Alatorre Bilingual Services Act (Cal. Gov. Code §7290) requires state and local
<br /> agencies serving a"substantial number of non-English speaking people" to employ a"sufficient
<br /> number of qualified bilingual staff in public contact positions" and to translate documents
<br /> explaining available services to their clients' languages. (See, Appendix A).
<br /> Law enforcement agencies operate within a culture of written policies and procedures,
<br /> Accordingly, written policies and procedures regarding Ianguage access would be useful in
<br /> guiding officers and support personnel on how and when to use language resource servicese The
<br /> Department of Justice Civil Rights Division has created a number of planning tools for law
<br /> 6 U.S. Deparhnent of Health and Human Services, http:�'l�j�ww.ah.rn.� htm
<br /> (11/29/2012}.
<br /> ' Atherton, Belmont, Brisbane, Burlingame, Colma, DaIy City, East Palo Alto, Foster City, Hillsborough, Menlo
<br /> Park, Pacifica, Redwood City, San Bruno, San Mateo, and South San Francisco.
<br /> g Includes Half Moon Bay, Millbrae, Portola Valley, San Carlos, and Woodside.
<br /> 9 No person in the United States shall, on the ground of race, color, or national origin, be excluded from
<br /> participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any pro�am or activiry receiving
<br /> Federal fmancial assistance.
<br /> lo Overcoming Language Barriers, Solutions For Law Enforcement, pg. 5, w43��-.cops.t�sdoi.eov (11/28/2012).
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