[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 49 (Thursday, April 21, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E725]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              TENNESSEE CRIMINAL JUSTICE LANGUAGE ACADEMY

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. LINCOLN DAVIS

                              of tennessee

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, April 20, 2005

  Mr. DAVIS of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the 
efforts of individuals in Tennessee who are providing a much needed 
training program for the law enforcement community. Columbia State 
Community College under the direction of its President, Dr. Rebecca 
Hawkins, in partnership with the Governor's Highway Safety Office 
directed by the distinguished Charles Taylor, along with countless 
others have worked together to institute a Spanish Language Training 
program for police officers.
  These two organizations have joined in the development of the 
Tennessee Criminal Justice Language Academy. The Academy is housed at 
Columbia State Community College and provides Spanish language training 
for police officers in Tennessee. The program is funded through a grant 
from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).
  As you know, Mr. Speaker, the Hispanic population is surging across 
our nation. A large number of Latino and Hispanic individuals have made 
their way into Tennessee. Both urban and rural communities in Tennessee 
have seen a great influx of people with Hispanic origin. This causes 
new demands on the social institutions of our state and it has created 
a major need in the law enforcement community. Law enforcement officers 
must be able to communicate with the citizens in their communities or 
they will not be effective in carrying out their duties. In large 
cities, police departments sometimes have officers who can speak the 
diverse languages of the citizens, but this is not the case in most 
areas of Tennessee due to the rural composition of our state. Most law 
enforcement in Tennessee are English speaking only, which causes many 
disadvantages for both the officers and the Hispanic citizens in the 
community.
  Verbal communication is crucial for police officers in traffic stop 
situations. The officer and driver must have a common understanding and 
way to communicate. If not, a barrier develops leaving both the officer 
and the Hispanic citizen with few options to resolve the issue. Officer 
safety becomes a problem in these type cases as well.
  In traffic stops where the driver is suspect of being impaired, it is 
extremely important for the officer to be able to communicate with the 
individual. The commands for the NHTSA approved Standardized Field 
Sobriety Test (SFST) must be given by the officer and understood by the 
suspect to be effective. If the officer cannot speak and understand 
Spanish and the suspect cannot speak and understand English the then 
the SFST is not effective in assisting the officer in making the 
decision to arrest or not. This leaves two scenarios: the officer 
allows the impaired driver to leave without arrest, or an innocent 
driver is arrested. The breech of communication causes both actions.
  Tennessee has not overlooked these problems. The Hispanic population 
is already in our communities, and we have started providing training 
to law enforcement agencies so that a bridge of communication can be 
built. The Spanish for Law Enforcement Program has trained over 1000 
officers thus far. This joint program by the Tennessee Governor's 
Highway Safety Office and Columbia State Community College serves as a 
model for other states that are experiencing the same need. Simply put, 
this program provides officers in Tennessee with a necessary new tool 
to better serve their communities.

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