AP: Texas

04/16/2006

By ANABELLE GARAY  / Associated Press

When a group of men posing as police officers robbed several Hispanic immigrants, not all the victims reported the crimes to the real authorities.

The reason for their silence is simple, many immigrants said while meeting with police in this Dallas suburb: "Tienen miedo," meaning "They're afraid."

"Yes, sometimes you get afraid. It's not because you're doing anything bad. Lots of times, because you're Hispanic, people don't want you around," said Irma Delgado, a 34-year-old Mexican immigrant.

Fear of police and deportation makes illegal immigrants easy targets for criminals, prompting police departments around the country to try outreach programs designed to build trust with residents.

One program developed in Garland called Unidos, which is Spanish for "united," has yielded such promising results that Dallas began using it in February. The suburb of Richardson is planning to use it in May, and several Texas departments are considering it.

Unidos features meetings on topics relevant to immigrants. Departments bring in guest speakers and hand out door prizes. Spanish-speaking officers are always available and stress that police won't single them out if they are living in the country illegally.

"It's focused not so much on the esoteric concerns on immigration policy ... but on enabling officers to become more aware of the day-to-day issues and people to navigate those day-to-day issues," said Phillip Lyons, executive director of the Texas Regional Community Policing Institute at Sam Houston State University.

With more than 31 million people in the U.S. who were born abroad, including an estimated 11 million living here illegally, some departments want to involve immigrants in community policing programs, experts say.

There's no way to tell how many departments are using outreach programs and they vary greatly, said Gilbert Moore of the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services at the U.S. Department of Justice. Some publish crime prevention materials in Spanish or other languages, while others provide cultural training for police and residents.

For example, Austin police coordinated with the Mexican consulate and area banks so undocumented workers could open accounts, helping reduce the number of robberies. The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department in North Carolina created an International Relations Unit.

Several Clearwater, Fla., officers were sent to the Mexican state of Hidalgo so they could learn about the place and culture many immigrants were coming from. Departments from Corcoran, Calif., to Dallas have set up citizen police academies in Spanish.

It's unclear how such outreach programs could be affected by immigration measures being considered in Congress. The House approved a measure to enlist local authorities to enforce immigration laws, but the Senate continues discussion on other measures.

Regardless of the outcome in Washington, advocates say outreach programs are crucial because immigrants are vulnerable to street crime and scams since they don't have proper documents for traditional banking or aren't fluent in English.

"The system is taking advantage of these people, not just robbing them," said Joe Campos, the League of United Latin American Citizens national executive manager. "They know they won't complain."

Before Garland Police Assistant Chief Steve Dye started Unidos in 2003, the department had faced a series of police shootings involving Hispanics, a string of muggings of undocumented workers, and the killing of an immigrant during a robbery.

Still, many immigrants steered clear of the police station.

"A lot of the community members were afraid," said Koni Ramos-Kaiwi, a member of the Garland council of the League of United Latin American Citizens in Texas. "They would shy away from calling the police."

At the same time, police say, recent immigrants were finding themselves on the wrong side of the law often because they didn't speak English or were misinformed.

But in the 2 1/2 years since Unidos began, attendance at the meetings regularly surpasses 100 and more crimes are getting reported, Dye said.

At a recent meeting, about 100 people, most of them immigrants, packed into police headquarters.

They listened intently as police warned about the men who struck mainly Hispanic neighborhoods and robbed their victims while pretending to search them. Although they haven't robbed anyone since, police say similar robberies have happened in Dallas and Fort Worth suburbs over the past year.

Residents munched on food, drank punch and asked a variety of questions. They wanted to know how a new ordinance to tow uninsured vehicles would work, which office to go to for a driver's license, and much more.

Most importantly, police say, they learned to trust the authorities.

"We all had another concept of police in Garland, that they would mistreat us," said Delgado, who has attended the meetings. "I've learned a lot of things, mainly, that they're here to help us."

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On the Net:

Garland Police http://www.ci.garland.tx.us/

Texas Regional Community Policing Institute http://www.cjcenter.org/trcpi/

Office of Community Oriented Policing Services http://www.cops.usdoj.gov/

LULAC http://lulac.org