There has also been an attempt to boost the number of non-white officers rather than merely deploy current minority police in greater numbers to the community. One of the most controversial aspects of the new London plan is fast-tracking applicants who speak languages spoken by ethnic minorities into the police service under a positive discrimination plan. The language recruitment system has been defended because of similar successful campaigns in the United States, much like the one implemented in Chicago in the Mazurek and Malin article. The director of recruitment states "If we can't communicate clearly with the general public, we can't do our job as well as we could otherwise" (Hilpern 2004). However, one problem in London not present in West Chicago, but certainly present in other communities within America is that within the large metropolitan city, there are "between 35 and 350 languages spoken" necessitating a focus "on the top six to 10 ethnic-minority languages spoken in the capital" (Hilpern 2004). The London police director said: "We welcome any language [applicant], particularly if it's currently under-represented" (Hilpern 2004). Said one minority officer who speaks several languages: "I've seen cases where a victim will hardly speak to a white officer and when they see me, they show relief" (Hilpern 2004).
The more culturally and linguistically diverse the area being policed, the more difficult it is to deploy culturally and linguistically aware policing. There is also a difficult balance to be struck between reeducating the current population...
Obviously, the balance depends upon the current age and composition of the force as well as the needs of the community, and the financial resources of the department. While London has tried to create a less threatening image through diversity and new recruiting strategies, Chicago has striven to do so by simply using the current force to establish a more welcome and humane presence in community. Chicago's job was in some sense easier than London's, as it already had Spanish-speaking officers on the force, and the program was focused on a specific population, rather than an entire city. Affirmative action like London's program will remain controversial, although it could be argued that the policy was more focused on language than upon race and was not unfairly discriminatory. Regardless, both programs have produced positive results in terms of improved community sentiment.
Works Cited
Hilpern, Kate (2004). "Speaking the language." The Independent.
Retrieved through Find Articles database on 17 Sept 2007 at http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4158/is_20041028/ai_n12812022/print
Mazurek, James L. & Bruce Malin (Dec 1991). Today's policing within the Hispanic community. Illinois Municipal Review. 9-12. Retrieved through the Illinois Periodicals Online on 17 Sept 2007 at http://www.lib.niu.edu/ipo/1991/im911209.html
