 Jeri Williams Chief of Police |
Oxnard Police Department
R. Jason Benites Scott Whitney |
OXNARD POLICE DEPARTMENT
NEWS RELEASE
| INCIDENT: | Oxnard Police collaborating with the Mixteco/Indigena Community Organizing Project (MICOP) to provide translation services for the Mixteco community |
| DATE/TIME: | April 14, 2015 |
| LOCATION: | City of Oxnard |
| PREPARED BY: | Miguel Lopez, Community Affairs Manager |
|
CONTACT PERSON & CONTACT INFO: |
Miguel Lopez, Community Affairs Manager (805) 385-7631 [email protected] |
DETAILS: In our continuing efforts to better serve our diverse community, the Oxnard Police Department is proud to announce a partnership with the Mixteco/Indigena Community Organizing Project (MICOP) to provide translation services for the Mixteco community. Based on information provided by our current telephonic language translation service, the Oxnard Police Department uses translation services for the Mixteco/Zapateco language more than any other police agency in the State of California.
The Mixteco/Zapoteco are indigenous languages to the Mexican state of Oaxaca. There are approximately 20,000 Mixtecs who reside in the County of Ventura with a majority of that population in the City of Oxnard. The majority are strawberry and agricultural farm workers, and many primarily speak their indigenous language. These indigenous languages do not resemble nor are in any way similar to the Spanish language.
While current language line interpreters can assist with obtaining information quickly over the phone, MICOP can respond to the scene or to the station to assist with more complicated or lengthy investigations.
MICOP has 22 trained interpreters who can help our employees overcome barriers, both linguistically and culturally. Most interpreters are bilingual and can translate from Mixteco/Zapateco to Spanish. If this occurs, a Spanish to English interpreter would also be needed. Trilingual interpreters (Mixteco-Spanish-English) are available on a very limited basis.
“We saw this as a gap in our mission to provide exceptional service to everyone in our community. We began meeting with MICOP representatives a couple of months ago with the goal of forming this partnership. It is exciting to know we will be enhancing our level of service to the Mixteco community,” said Assistant Chief Eric S. Sonstegard.
“We believe that translators that respond to incidents on location will help with making the victims/witnesses feel more at ease and help bridge any cultural differences or barriers,” said Police Chief Williams Jeri Williams.
During the month of April, MICOP will be attending briefings to further outline their services and to share the wonderful culture that is Oaxaca, as a part of the Department’s ongoing cultural proficiency efforts.
Last week, Oxnard Police launched a new initiative, that places neighbors and community members at the center as partners in public safety, Oxnard Neighbors United Project (ON UP). The collaboration with MICOP is an excellent example of a community-based organization and local non-profit supporting police in our efforts to serve our community with exceptional service.
This partnership is an extension of the Oxnard Police Department’s work with MICOP the past six years. Oxnard Police started a monthly “Charlas Comunitarias” series, an open monthly forum where officers and Mixteco community members would gather for general public safety informational sessions that would be translated by Elia Vazquez from MICOP. In addition, last year the Oxnard Police and Fire Departments partnered with Ventura County Supervisor John Zaragoza’s Office and FEMA on a LISTOS Program, or “ready” in Spanish, a six-week course on how to prepare and respond if an earthquake, tsunami or other emergency strikes Ventura County. The course is a culturally sensitive training program designed to teach speakers of Spanish and indigenous languages how to protect their families and lead their communities in case of a natural disaster.
DATE: 4/14/2015 1325 hrs.
