Today's Policing Within
The Hispanic Community

By COMMANDER JAMES L. MAZUREK, SERGEANT BRUCE MALKIN, West Chicago Police Department

For many decades, the City of West Chicago has been home to the Hispanic population, reaching a total of 4,510 in 1990, representing 30% of the total population of the city. Many may argue that this 1990 census figure may be underestimated as West Chicago has the greatest dispersion of first, second, and third generations of Mexican immigrants seeking an opportunity to better themselves, their way of life, and to support family in their homeland.

Employment offered to Mexicans is primarily highly laborious and low paying, which forces them to live in low-income collective situations, which may include a rented apartment or house. Mexicans living in collective situations have difficulty assimilating to American culture because their living arrangement may be in many respects a microcosm of their country of origin. Their sense of alienation causes them to perpetuate their traditional normative living patterns, which are based on the importance of family, collectivism, and rural patterns of survival.

As a result, first and second generation Mexicans maintain cultural patterns of behavior in their home in West Chicago. Many of their stressors and social problems do not reflect their cultural behavior but are more accurately symptoms of the clash of their culture with the newly found American culture.

Language is their first hindrance as their initial inability to comprehend English makes it difficult to access resources which will assist their everyday functioning. The language barrier is a great factor when a Mexican is trying to secure adequate employment.

As a result of inadequate employment, salary then becomes another barrier as Hispanics living in the West Chicago area earn a minimal wage, which perpetuates cultural alienation from an economic perspective.

The majority of Mexicans in West Chicago are documented citizens, and they too face employment difficulties. Employers make inaccurate assumptions when hiring Mexicans — many have been born in the area and are descendants of the migratory influx of the late 1940s.

The Mexican children of West Chicago face a social crisis — they are frequently born in the DuPage area and, throughout their childhood, are exposed through media and education of a white, middle class way of life. They develop American cultural beliefs which they assimilate, as well as their non-Hispanic peers. However, they face a contrasting social environment in their home — the Hispanic culture of their parents, in many respects, provides cohesiveness in the family but, in other respects, causes polarity in the life of the troubled adolescent.

In West Chicago there is a definite shortage of social service professionals which are bi-culturally sensitive to this significantly large Hispanic population. This shortage is, however, a phenomenon that is prevalent throughout the United States. Implications for intervention suggest that a community like West Chicago should consider the structural and economic barriers of its Hispanic citizens. A cooperative effort of volunteer organizations, municipal government, and other interested groups could make a significant impact in breaking down these barriers and offer opportunity for Hispanics to improve their own life conditions and significantly contribute to the community at large (Cesar Madrigal, President, DuPage County Hispanic Task Force).

Currently, the West Chicago Police Department and the DuPage County Hispanic Task Force have begun working together developing an outreach campaign to develop and implement programs necessary to meet the specific needs of the Hispanic community. Areas of concentration are:

the need to bridge the gap between the Hispanic population and the police department by understanding cultural differences, the role of the police, Hispanic history, attitudes of Hispanics toward the police, needs of the Hispanic community and how

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to address them, referral sources, Hispanic family background.

To implement and reach these objectives, the following was set up:

roll call training — the police department felt it was essential to begin with an educational phase, and this was accomplished by educating staff personnel and civilian employees regarding the Hispanic culture. To further enhance this phase, the police department recommended this training to be an ongoing process which would include members of the task force to ride along with officers during their shifts;

public service announcement — implementation of this phase would begin the outreach campaign by using Spanish-speaking officers to provide information on a larger scale to the Hispanic community, thus enhancing stronger police-community relations;

group meetings/affairs — the police department also felt it imperative to attend any Hispanic community meetings/affairs in order to address concerns of this community;

walk and talk program — this portion of the program entails having officers, during their shifts, make contact by visiting the Hispanic businesses as another way of enhancing public relations.

Through the interest of Gerald Mourning, Chief of Police, West Chicago Police Department, contact was made with the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority, an organization designed to assist police agencies by conducting research to meet whatever specific needs they may have. By studying various cities in Illinois with an Hispanic population of 25% or more, it was learned by the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority that some chiefs did not see a need for a specific program or training while others were looking for programs to better train officers in cultural awareness and understanding.

Through the interest of the West Chicago Police

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Department, the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority has researched the issue of police training in cultural awareness and other programs which might serve to strengthen ties between the police department and the Hispanic community. To further enhance knowledge in this area, the Criminal Justice Information Authority planned and held a seminar to promote cultural and ethnic awareness.

On an on-going basis, the DuPage County Hispanic Task Force, Chief Mourning, and the West Chicago Police Department continue to strive for improvement with the Hispanic community. In so doing, Chief Mourning has suggested a program of this altitude should include members of other City departments; i.e., City Administrator, Assistant City Administrator, Director of Economic Development, City Planner, and Museum Director. In so including, the following objectives were discussed and implemented:

the Director of Economic Development's objective is to contact the College of DuPage to ascertain willingness to work with various corporations in the City to provide on-site English classes for Hispanic employees and to further be responsible for identifying West Chicago corporations willing to participate;

the City Planner's responsibility is to explore the availability of obtaining federal grant money and City funds for the purpose of providing revitalization to areas in the city where living conditions for Hispanics are not conducive;

the City Administrator is to research an affirmative action program through the Hispanic community to assist in finding qualified Hispanics to fill jobs within the city;

the Assistant City Administrator's role is establishing communication of other forms of media, including Spanish newspapers in other communities, developing contacts with other organizations, and promoting Mr. Madrigal's Spanish cable television show in West Chicago;

the City Museum Director has undertaken investigating roles which Hispanics have had in West Chicago from an historical perspective, provide information to the Anglo population which would

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reflect contributions Hispanics have made to the community;

the Chief of Police will be responsible for locating a site where the task force can begin to implement a domestic violence program and counseling service;

the task force will assist in the interpretation of City documents, implementation of domestic violence counseling services, public service announcements, strengthen liaison programs with the community, and seek Hispanic media sources for information and dissemination.

Through the efforts of the West Chicago Police Department, the DuPage County Task Force feels a big step towards addressing the needs of the Hispanic community have been met. The police department strongly believes the initiative represented is a "progressive step towards improving the quality of life for the West Chicago Hispanic community" and pledges to make the program successful.

To date, the program has progressed to the following:

an Hispanic D.A.R.E. officer was chosen as a liaison between the police department and Hispanic community;

working with area organizations to implement Spanish-speaking programs; i.e., counseling, domestic violence, etc.;

developed and implemented a volunteer program for the West Chicago Police Department for the purpose of bettering communications within the community, with the first volunteer being an Hispanic;

working with Hispanic organizations to develop a better rapport;

implemented, and further developing, an Hispanic speakers' bureau;

"stop and talk" program initiated, along with establishing a "Neighborhood Watch" program for the Hispanic community;

high visibility in the Hispanic areas;

getting on line with AT&T's language line.

As time progresses, members of the West Chicago Police Department have been working with the Multi-Regional Training Unit on a "Hispanic Cultural Awareness" training program specifically for police officers which will include on-going training, training for department roll calls, programs released through the use of cassette tapes, seminars, group discussions. •

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