San Francisco Police Focus on Abused Immigrants

ALEX CHADWICK, host:

Probably everything is harder for immigrants than it is for the rest of us. Think about women dealing with violent husbands. Whether they're here illegally or not, many are afraid to go to the police for help. And even if they do, they often run into problems if their English is limited.

Now, as Nancy Mullane reports from San Francisco, some police departments are trying to make it easier for them to report crimes.

NANCY MULLANE: It's a sunny winter day, and Lilly(ph), a young Indonesian woman, has agreed to meet at a small city park. After months of living in a protected women's shelter, she's ready to talk about how she tried to escape from an abusive relationship by going to the police.

LILLY: I'm so scared that time. The police, they didn't help me.

MULLANE: Lilly says she didn't want to go to the police, but a French-speaking neighbor convinced her it was the right thing to do.

LILLY: And when the neighbor who helped me want to sit with me and explain, they don't allow her. So I just speak what English I have.

MULLANE: In broken English, Lilly explains that the police made her neighbor leave, and that meant she couldn't understand what the police were saying and they couldn't understand her.

LILLY: Yeah, because I don't understand. They don't believe me.

MULLANE: She was terrified. Her neighbor took her in and gave her temporary protection. Eventually she found refuge at the women's shelter. The U.S. Census Bureau reports more than 37 million people living in the country are foreign-born, and a number of them have limited English or no English skills.

Ms. LESLYE ORLOFF (Attorney): For immigrant victims, it's like a triple whammy.

MULLANE: Leslye Orloff is director of the Immigrant Women and Program and an attorney with Legal Momentum in Washington D.C. She says, first, as immigrants they can't speak English; second, they are afraid of losing their kids; and third, they're worried about being deported.

Ms. ORLOFF: Their abusers have been saying, if you call the police you're going to get deported. They call the police for help and 911 hangs up because they don't speak the language.

MULLANE: Last year, a report by San Francisco's Department on the Status of Women found the city's interpretation services for victims of domestic violence to be inconsistently available and of poor quality. So beginning this month, police officers in San Francisco have a new tool to use when communicating with domestic violence victims who speak limited English.

Unidentified Man: Welcome to Language Line Services.

Unidentified Woman: For Spanish, press 1.

MULLANE: Now police officers responding to domestic violence calls in the field will have cell phones they can take with them. With one-touch dialing they can reach a private language service that offers 24/7 interpretation in 145 languages.

At a press conference announcing the new cell phone program, San Francisco Police Chief Heather Fong said this is a big step in closing the language gap.

Chief HEATHER FONG (San Francisco Police Department): We know that in San Francisco there are so many monolingual or limited-English people. And the key is that they should expect the same level of service. This will allow us to more efficiently do that. We don't have to go in and say, can we use your phone? To call the Language Line, we can actually bring the phone and then have that conversation.

MULLANE: Fong says in addition signs in foreign languages will be posted in police stations throughout the city, informing the public that professional interpreters are available. All police officers will receive training in how to access the Language Line Services both in the office and in the field. And the city is hiring a new language liaison officer to coordinate ongoing services and training. But making these changes has been expensive. So far it's costing San Francisco nearly half a million dollars to improve its language services. But there is a risk if it doesn't, says Samara Marion, an attorney with the city's Office of Citizen Complaints. She says that's because Title Six of the Civil Rights Act prohibits discrimination based on a person's race, color, national origin, and language.

Ms. SAMARA MARION (Office of Citizen Complaints): The Department of Justice can then audit police departments. And it can essentially say, let's see whether or not you are complying with Title Six, and if you're not, we could take your funding.

MULLANE: Many police departments across the country, such as those in Cincinnati, Philadelphia and Seattle, are taking some steps to meet the language needs of the communities they serve.

But Leslie Orloff of Legal Momentum says the number of police departments like San Francisco that are adopting comprehensive plans for language services are few.

For NPR News, I'm Nancy Mullane in San Francisco. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright National Public Radio.