MEMPHIS- FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER IN THE SOUTH, LATINOS AND AFRICAN AMERICANS MARCH TOGETHER FOR A SAFER COMMUNITY

For the first time ever in the Southeastern U.S. Latinos and African Americans will be marching hand in hand for a safer community. Over a thousand Memphis residents are expected to march in Memphis on May 10 to raise community awareness about the problem of crime being faced by people of color in this cradle of the civil rights movement. Fuerza Latina Unida (United Latin Movement), a culturally diverse grass-roots coalition of community activists and organizations, has put together a comprehensive proposal entitled "A Plan of Action for a Safer Memphis Community: Latinos, the Community and Police Relations." The organization will be calling on city leaders and the Memphis Police Department to adopt the proposals outlined in the plan, which include: The recruitment and hiring of bilingual 911 operators and officers, the creation of a Latino and multi-cultural community-police liaison outreach office, and an increase of patrolling in hots spots for crime.

PRESS RELEASE
Embargoed: May 10, 2003 @ 12:00 a.m.
Contact: David Lubell (901) 413-1354
         Juan Sanchez (901) 218-0874

MEMPHIS DIVERSE COMMUNITIES MARCH FOR SAFETY

Memphis, Tennessee (PRWEB) May 10, 2003 --¡XToday, Black and Latino communities in Memphis declared their solidarity for stronger community-police relations and a safer city, by holding a ¡§March for a Safer Memphis.¡¨

Fuerza Latina Unida (FLU/United Latin Movement), a culturally diverse grass-roots coalition of community activists and organizations has presented a comprehensive proposal ¡XA Plan of Action for a Safer Memphis Community: Latinos, The Community and Police Relations ¡X to Mayor Herenton and Police Director Bolden for improved police work and stronger community-police relations. The key components of the plan are:

„«   Create a fully-staffed and funded Latino/multi-cultural liaison outreach office. Although the Memphis Police Department announced the creation of a ¡§Latino liaison unit¡¨ in 2000, that position consisted of a single bilingual police officer working a full shift on patrol, who received no extra pay, had no staff, and no office to address the concerns of the Latino community.

„«   Recruit, hire and train bilingual police officers and 911 operators. Of the 1,878 current commissioned officers, only about 13 are known to be bilingual ¡V 0.7 percent. Therefore, only 0.7 percent of the force was equipped to handle 11.2 percent of the individual robberies committed against Latino residents in Memphis in 2002.

The recommendations in the plan are based on the experiences of other police departments that serve diverse communities. For example, the Santa Ana Police Department has offered salary increases to police personnel who are bi-lingual.

¡§As the number of Latino immigrants in the Memphis community grows, we must ensure that our police department is responsive to the changing demographics and needs of the city,¡¨ says Rolando Rostro of Fuerza Latina Unida. ¡§Disturbingly, when Latinos call for help, assistance is slow due to language barriers.¡¨

A 2002 poll, released by the City of Memphis, indicates that most city residents believe that crime has decreased in their neighborhoods. Unfortunately, for the Latino community ¡Xa population that was excluded from the poll sample¡Xthe statistics tell a different story. Although Latinos make up approximately 3 percent of the population, they accounted for 57.3 percent of the overall increase in individual robberies as reported by victims between 2001 and 2002.

¡§The Latino community is a growing segment of the Memphis population with real concerns about crime,¡¨ says David Lubell of the Tennessee Immigrant Rights Coalition, ¡§We believe that one of the primary contributors to the increased victimization of Latinos is the inability of Latinos and police officers to communicate with each other. Many Latinos find that when they attempt to contact the police, they are misunderstood, or not understood at all.¡¨
   
Memphis¡¦ African-American community is experiencing an increase in crime as well. Last year, African-Americans were 79.6 percent of homicide victims, yet they make up 64.6 percent of the city¡¦s population.

¡§It¡¦s time for all of us to come together to stop violence. We must make sure everyone is safe and that our police department provides exemplary services to every community,¡¨ says Rev. Ralph White, Pastor of the Bloomfield Full Gospel Baptist Church.

Cities all across the South, have seen a significant increase in the immigrant population.
Several of these cities have taken steps to improve services to diverse communities. For example, North Carolina¡¦s Charlotte-Mecklenberg Police Department has created a unit called La Unidad de Relaciones Internacionales (the unification of internal relationships) which reportedly has a staff of seven bilingual officers dedicated to reaching out to bi-lingual communities.

¡§If you only speak English, imagine calling the police to respond to a shooting in your neighborhood and no one on the other end understands what you are saying,¡¨ says Monique Dixon, staff attorney at the Advancement Project, a Washington, D.C.-based policy and legal action group that has researched promising police practices as it relates to community policing. ¡§There is no question that police departments should be equipped to serve multi-lingual communities ¡V the question is, how do you do it effectively?¡¨

Today¡¦s march is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. at the MacFarland Community Center at 4955 Cottonwood Road.    

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FUERZA LATINA UNIDA is a group of concerned Memphis residents determined to address three primary concerns and challenges of the Latino community: crime, access to health care, and employment. Our mission is to unify Latino leaders and organizations in order to work toward obtaining justice and equal opportunity for all Latinos in Memphis. Recognizing that our concerns and challenges are similar to those of other Memphis residents, we are always looking to develop alliances with other racial and ethnic groups. For more information, please visit www.flumemphis.org