Westchester County District Attorney Miriam E. Rocah and Westchester County Executive George Latimer announced May 19 that the county will provide
funding for local Westchester police departments to access real-time interpreter services through Language Line. The move will allow law enforcement
agencies to better serve residents, witnesses and crime victims in their native languages.
Language Line provides on-demand interpreting in more than 240 languages via mobile, video and phone through a team of more than 14,000 professional
interpreters. The DA’s Office currently has access to services similar to those offered through Language Line.
According to statistics, language barrier can be a strong disincentive for crime victims or witnesses to approach law enforcement for assistance. Non-English speakers commonly rely on friends of family members to provide translation, but this informal process can be unwieldy and impractical, especially when reporting a crime.
“Effective law enforcement is important to maintaining safe and secure communities across Westchester and part of that is ensuring that our police departments and prosecutors are able to fully engage and communicate with all residents of all background,” Rocah said. “This generous support from the County will enable police to build better trust with immigrants and others with limited English skills, which will in turn help prevent crime and make our
communities stronger and safer.”
Under this initiative, the DA’s Office and any local police department in need of translation services in any language will contact the Westchester County
Department of Public Safety Communications Unit which will connect the department with a translator. This will enable all residents to receive immediate
translation services and be able to communicate with the police in the language in which they are most comfortable.
“We have a duty to protect our residents, and if that means better communicating with them in their native language we want to do that,” Latimer siad. “It is
difficult for police departments to have officers who speak each language spoken in Westchester County. Access to Language Line will enable the officers and the residents to communicate in their native language when interacting with the local police departments.
The Westchester County Department of Public Safety has long used Language Line and it has proven to be very successful.” Language Line is also an invaluable
service that we utilize to communicate promptly and effectively with persons who have been a victim of a crime or have a need for police assistance. A language
barrier should never prevent anyone from getting the help or service they need.”
“The goal of every Westchester County police officer is to meet the needs of the communities we serve and to make continuing improvements to the services we provide,” said Andy Matturo, Scarsdale police chief and president of the Westchester County Chiefs of Police Association. “Enhancing access to all of our officers with translation services through Language Line in real-time will help us get details from crime victims and witnesses that much faster, which can allow us to solve cases and help victims.”
Asian American Advisory Board Co-Chair Marjorie Hsu added, “I applaud Westchester County providing on-demand interpreters through Language Line
to our local police departments. Asian Americans are the fastest growing demographic in New York and the U.S.; and language access has long been a significant challenge for new immigrants. There are 2300 living languages in Asia, and seven major dialects of the Chinese language. Providing our public safety staff with language assistance will greatly improve Asian American new immigrants’ sense of security and assimilation in Westchester.”
(Submitted)
