Cultural Gap Hinders Investigations

[greenlead]

This is related to http://forums.realpolice.net/showthread.php?t=44118 .

http://www.fortwayne.com/mld/fortway...l/13431132.htm

A column by Kevin Leininger
Cultural gap hinders investigations

People who raise questions about the lack of border control or immigrants’ failure to learn English are often accused of being xenophobic, racist – or worse. But as recent events proved all too clearly, immigrants themselves may be paying the highest price for living outside of the American mainstream.

Neither police nor school officials suggest immigration status or language is to blame for the disappearance of Alejandra Gutierrez or the murder of Ana Casas Rios and her three children. But, they acknowledge, communication problems and fear of police have exacerbated the situation and may be hindering investigation of both cases.

Of the 32,000 students in the Fort Wayne Community Schools district, 3,192 are taking special classes to learn English – including 2,151 children whose native language is Spanish. Although Alejandra Gutierrez can speak Spanish and some English, her parents do not speak English. So, when she didn’t show up for class last week at Maplewood Elementary School, a bilingual employee – not the usual office staffer – was supposed to contact the family. That never happened, however — which may have delayed investigation of the girl’s disappearance for several hours.

“We’re not making excuses,” FWCS spokeswoman Debbie Morgan said. “Part of our investigation is to find out why the call didn’t get made.”

Issues of immigration and language have also complicated the deaths of Rios and her children, Police Chief Rusty York said.

Police responded to the Rios’ home in the 4100 block of South Calhoun Street after receiving a 911 report of a suicide threat from a Spanish-speaking man. They found Simon Rios on the porch, and the bodies of his wife and children inside. Although the process by which non-English 911 calls are translated reportedly worked well, York said the language barrier can be hard to overcome.

“When you’re doing something as complex as an interview, having to translate makes everything more difficult. You have to look for body language,” said York, who said 40 of his 440 officers can speak some Spanish – including 10 who are fluent. “We work on it all the time, and it’s incumbent on us to do that. But language differences can make things tough.”

Differences in language make communication more difficult. Fear of deportation can make it impossible.

Ana Casas Rios, for example, spoke little English. So, when she reported being beaten and kicked by her husband in May 2003, she was given a victim’s rights card written in Spanish and told to contact the city’s Victims Assistance office. Simon Rios received a one-year, suspended sentence for the attack.

But police wonder whether Ana Rios might have been more willing to seek help if not for the language barrier and her non-citizen status. Rios was not a U.S. citizen, York said.

Capt. Jim Zamora said fear of deportation was evident as police began to investigate the Rios murders. He wanted to interview a relative of the family, but the woman was reluctant because of her immigration status.

Immigration-related fears also may be keeping people with information about Gutierrez’s disappearance from contacting police, York said. “Although perhaps they’re just fearful of police in general, since police in Mexico are often corrupt. Or maybe there’s just not much information to be had.”

But deportation fears are unfounded, York and Zamora said, because Fort Wayne Police do not report immigration violations to the federal government.

Some will view this column as “blaming the victim,” but nothing could be further from the truth.

It is, in fact, a plea for Fort Wayne’s newest residents to empower themselves by learning the language they will need to succeed at school.

To prosper in business.

And, in case of emergency, to protect themselves and their loved ones.

As Zamora said, many agencies offer English classes – but the sometimes-harsh reality of immigrant life often gets in the way.

“When you’re working multiple jobs just to take care of the kids, you don’t have a lot of time to sit in class two or three nights a week,” he said. “It’s not a lack of desire. It’s a lack of time.”

No doubt there’s truth in that, and in the fact that younger generations of immigrants will learn English just as earlier waves of immigrants did. But recent events show there’s truth in this, too: The inability to communicate, for whatever reason, can have unfortunate consequences.

Society must do its part to bridge that gap but, for their own good, immigrants must accept their share of the burden, too – the sooner the better.

Kevin Leininger’s column appears in The News-Sentinel every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. Leininger has been with The News-Sentinel for more than 26 years, 11 of which were as an editorial writer. The column reflects his opinion, not necessarily that of The News-Sentinel, and discusses issues affecting Fort Wayne. To pass along ideas or feedback, contact him at kleininger@news-sentinel.com, or call 461-8355.

[Virginian]

Same kind of thing happens with a lot of Asian immigrants, apparently the corruption amongst police where they came from makes them avoid calling about crimes or even agreeing to be interviewed. Unfortunately, many of them also keep all their money in their homes rather than in banks, and this makes them frequent victims of criminals. Rough stuff, dealing with other cultures.