2010 MetLife Awards: On the Beat Multilingual Police Liaison Program
Date Published: 07/22/2011
Author: Christine Retzlaff
CASE STUDY
Family Service of Rhode Island and the Providence Police Department,
2010 MetLife Foundation Special Strategy: Diversity, Inclusion & Integration Award
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The On The Beat Multilingual Police Liaison Program offers a unique collaboration to its community, providing the opportunity for “beat” cops and bilingual social workers to do joint patrols. Operating in a primarily Latino neighborhood with high unemployment and elevated rates of violent crime, the social worker patrols with Providence police officers to intervene in homes and neighborhoods to help families in trouble, prevent violence and protect those who are witness to or victims of violent crime. The social worker is able to serve as a liaison between residents and the police, provide interpretation services, crisis intervention and quick assessments of a victim’s home in order to provide immediate access to additional resources. The program provides 24/7/365 on-scene response by social workers trained in crisis intervention and children’s response to trauma. The program includes outreach and support in many languages, including Spanish, as Family Services is a non-profit strongly rooted in the community. The program has built trust between new immigrants and the police as the social service workers help to educate residents about the role of the police and legal procedures. There has been more cooperation from police in allowing service organizations to perform early crisis intervention before a situation escalates. Since the program has been implemented the Chad Brown neighborhood has seen a decline in gun crimes—down more than 75% in the past year. Burglaries are down 55% and aggravated assaults 77%.
Topic: --Community Safety
Type: Case study / model practice