Using portable language translation machines, police in Jackson, Mississippi have taken steps to improve communications and public relations with non-English-speaking city residents.

At the end of June the Jackson Police Department (JPD) announced it would begin using handheld electronic language translators to better communicate with crime suspects and victims.

Currently the JPD has 10 of these language translation machines, purchased at a cost of $950 each with grant funds obtained from the U.S. Department of Justice.  The devices can translate typed in words and can interpret spoken words in several languages including Spanish, Arabic and Korean.

Jackson police Chief Rebecca Coleman says the machines will be a big help in the field since only a handful of the nearly 500 officers on the force speak a language other than English.

"We have distributed the units to all of the precincts and to our special units and our communications division. A supervisor will have access to the translator and can go to the location and provide this instrument to an officer in the field," Coleman said.

"This makes us more of a global community that's more inviting to people from all over the world," Mayor Harvey Johnson Jr. said to reporters. "It is great for our law enforcement's police officers to be able to communicate with all these individuals, whether they reside here, come here to visit or are on business."

Bill Chandler, a member of the Mississippi Immigration Rights Alliance, told the press that the use of the devices "is an important step for the city of Jackson."

"There are many victims of crime that are fearful of coming forward and think this will make it easier for people to report crimes. We have had many incidents when people are afraid or they cannot communicate with officers and I think this is a big step," Chandler said.

Alex Dupont

See Also

• More about language translation
  An accurate professional translation can save a patient's life, win a bid, or persuade a shopper to buy your product.
• More about machine translation
  Machine Translation (MT) may be sufficient for communicating via social networks, or getting the gist of a foreign language website. However, MT in itself is not good enough if you require a translation of publishable quality.
• More about language interpreting
  Language Interpreting is the process of translating spoken words from one language into another.
• JPD Ups Non-English Skills by Vergie Redmond
  The Jackson Police Department is taking steps to improve communications and relationships with non-English-speaking residents in the city.
• Jackson police to begin using language Jtranslation machines
  Mississippi Public Broadcasting story on the Jackson, Mississippi, police force using language translation machings to help officers interact with people who do not speak English