Police Department LEP Assessment and Plan

Most individuals in the United States read, write, speak and understand English. However, there are many individuals whose primary language is not English. Individuals who do not speak English as their primary language and who have a limited ability to read, write, speak or understand English can be Limited English Proficient, or “LEP.” This language barrier may prevent individuals from accessing services and benefits.

There are two pieces of legislation that provide the foundation for the development of an LEP plan: Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and Executive Order 13166. In some circumstances, failure to ensure that LEP persons can effectively participate in federally assisted programs may constitute discrimination based on national origin under Title VI. Additionally, agencies receiving funding under the Omnibus Crime Control/ Safe Streets Act are also required to take reasonable steps to ensure services are accessible to LEP individuals. In order to comply with Title VI, the Boise Police Department takes reasonable actions for competent language assistance. Executive Order 13166 clarifies requirements for LEP persons under Title VI. The Executive Order requires our agency to examine the services it provides, and develop and implement a system by which LEP persons can meaningfully access those services.

Four Factor Analysis

The first step in determining the proper components of a Language Assistance Plan is understanding the number of LEP persons who may encounter services or programs provided by the Boise Police Department.

1. In Boise, Spanish speakers are the primary LEP persons likely to be encountered by Boise Police Department employees. As of the 2010 Census, the total population within the City of Boise is 205,671. Per the 2007-2011 American Community Survey (ACS), the estimated population of persons age five years and older is 194,012. In Boise, Spanish is the language spoken at home by 9,035 people, or 4.7% of the population five years and older. Of the 9,035 persons who speak Spanish at home, 2,840 (or 1.5% of the population five years and older) report speaking English less than very well. In addition, 5,783 citizens (or 3% of the population five years and older) of the population report speaking other Indo-European languages, with 2,029 of them (or 1% of the population five years and older) speaking English less than very well.
   
   There is also a small percentage of the Boise population that speaks Asian and Pacific Islander languages (2.1% of the population five years and older) and American Indian and Alaskan native languages (.3% of the population five years and older). In all, it is estimated that 3.9% of the population of Boise speaks English less than very well.
2. The frequency with which LEP individuals come in contact with the program. The Boise Police Department assesses the frequency at which staff has, or could possibly have, contact with LEP persons. This includes examining Census data, telephone inquiries, requests for translated documents, and staff feedback. As discussed above, Census data indicate that approximately 1.5% of the citizens of Boise are Spanish-speaking LEP persons. As a law enforcement agency, it is necessary to recognize this segment of the general population. Telephone inquiries and staff feedback also indicate that Spanish-speaking LEP persons have regular contact with police services. For the 2018 calendar year, 384 employees of the Boise Police Department who were surveyed have reported 182 inquiries by phone or in person to have an interpreter assist an LEP person.
   
   BPD employs 12 Spanish-speaking employees and 4 officers speaking one or more of the following: French, Chinese, Portuguese, Bosnian, Serbian, Croatian, Cantonese, Mandarin, and Russian. The Department also contracts services with citizens in the community, who speak a variety of languages.
3. The nature and importance of the program, activity or service provided by the recipient to people’s lives. The City of Boise is home to the Idaho Migrant Council, Idaho Legal Aid Services, the Community Council of Idaho, the English Language Center, the Idaho Office on Refugees, three refugee resettlement agencies (International Rescue Committee, Neighbors United, and Agency for New Americans) and the College of Western Idaho-ESL training courses http://cwidaho.cc/file/esl-english-classes-boise. Therefore, there is not a lack of social service, professional and leadership organizations within the City of Boise that focus on outreach or membership of LEP individuals.
   
   Boise Police Department personnel are most likely to encounter LEP individuals through police contacts in the community and at the front desk of City Hall West. The Boise Police Department has formed a partnership with the community and other public safety agencies in the area to provide quality services to protect life and resolve problems. Clear communication, no matter what language, with our citizens is critical in order for this partnership to occur. Ada County Sheriff’s dispatchers (providing dispatch services to Boise Police) and Boise Police telephone report unit staff serve as the cornerstone in this partnership. Ada County Sheriff’s Dispatch answers emergency and non-emergency calls from the public. Dispatchers send police officers on calls for service, and relay their requests to the appropriate sources.  This communication interchange occurs 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. The Boise Police Department has bilingual staff throughout the agency available to provide interpretation, and also has contracts for oral and written language assistance services. Employees will only use family members, friends or bystanders to interpret in unforeseen, emergency circumstances while awaiting a qualified interpreter. If field and investigative personnel require an interpreter, the CAD system has information on available interpretation services. For Boise’s future, we are addressing three key areas: growth, accountability, and improvement of basic service delivery, with the goal of providing better service to our community in whatever language they communicate.
   
   In order to ensure our continuing transparency and accountability to the LEP community, the Boise Police Department provides several methods for citizens to report misconduct. The BPD’s Office of Internal Affairs (OIA) is responsible for investigating complaints alleging police misconduct. The procedures for receiving and investigating such complaints are set forth in the Boise Police Department Policy Manual, Section 12.02.00. Members of the public can file a complaint of alleged police misconduct in writing, over the telephone, over the Internet, in person at the OIA, or in person to a supervisor at City Hall West, 333 N. Mark Stall Place, Boise Idaho 83704-0644. Complaints are acknowledged at the time they are received, either orally or in writing, depending upon how the complaint was filed. No False Information Warning is given. Upon completion of the investigation, complainants are notified either by telephone or  in writing, depending upon the nature and severity of the complaint.
   
   In lieu of filing a complaint directly with the BPD, citizens may file a complaint with the Office of Police Oversight, a city office, independent from the Boise Police Department, providing civilian police oversight and complaint investigation. A complainant who is not satisfied with an OIA investigation may also contact the Officer of Community Ombudsman, headed by a civilian oversight professional appointed by the Mayor and the City Council. The Office of Community Ombudsman reviews completed OIA investigations and provides non- binding recommendations to the OIA. The City's Human Resources Department is responsible for tracking City department EEOP and LEP programs, ensuring that LEP individuals are afforded meaningful access to all federally-assisted City programs and services in accordance with Title VI.
4. The resources available to the recipient and costs. The Boise Police Department assessed its available resources used to provide language assistance. This included identifying bilingual staff, reviewing the existing Boise Police Department services for interpretation and translation-service providers, determining which documents should be translated, and deciding what level of staff training is needed.
   
   The Boise Police Department will provide specific outreach on programs to organizations supporting persons with Limited English Proficiency. The Boise Police Department will ensure that information regarding public meetings is disseminated to organizations supporting persons with Limited English Proficiency and disseminate public notices that have language assistance instructions. The Boise Police Department will meet periodically with refugee resettlement agencies and other advocacy groups for Limited English speakers to assess any changes to language needs. The Boise Police Department will provide Census Bureau “I Speak Cards” at public meetings, and utilize the telephone interpreter service Language Line Services when interpreter services are required.
   
   The Boise Police Department currently subscribes to Language Line Services, a service that provides interpretation of 9-1-1 calls in 140 different languages to assist in determining a caller’s language, name, address, telephone number, and a short narrative of the situation and the help needed, as well as with suspect information, if available, to ensure an appropriate dispatch of services. Language Line Services is also used by the Ada County Sheriff’s Office to assist in determining a caller’s language, name, address, telephone number, and a short narrative of the situation and the help needed, as well as with suspect information, if available, to ensure an appropriate dispatch of services.
   
   The Boise Police Department, though its Community Outreach Refugee Liaison, has developed a list of contract interpreters who are available for in-person interpretation in 39 languages. Each contract interpreter has been vetted and screened by the Refugee Liaison.
   
   The Boise Police Department will determine what documents to translate into languages other than English by conducting an assessment consistent with the four-factor analysis contained in the Department of Justice (DOJ) Guidance. Specifically, the Boise Police Department will analyze the number of LEP persons that would utilize the material, the frequency with which LEP individuals would come into contact with the material, the nature and importance of the material, and the resources available to translate the materials. When staff prepares a document or schedules a meeting for which the target audience is expected to include LEP individuals, documents, meeting notices, flyers and agendas will be printed in an alternative language based on the known LEP population.
   
   Based on the Hispanic and Latino population in the City of Boise, many of the written materials, including vital documents, are being translated into Spanish.
   
   In accordance with the four-factor analysis described above, the Boise Police Department developed the following plan for providing language assistance to LEP persons through: (1) interpreters contracting with BPD under the Community Outreach Division’s Refugee Liaison Officer program; (2) Language Line Services; (3) bilingual BPD employees; and (4) friends or family members of LEP individuals or third-party bystanders. BPD does not currently conduct any assessment of bilingual officers and there is no incentive for maintaining bilingual skills.

   
   The Boise Police Department determines what documents to translate into languages other than English by conducting an assessment consistent with the four-factor analysis contained in the Department of Justice (DOJ) Guidance. Specifically, BPD analyzes the number of LEP persons that would utilize the material, the frequency with which LEP individuals would come into contact with the material, the nature and importance of the material, and the resources available to translate the materials.
   
   In accordance with the four-factor analysis described above, the Boise Police Department developed the following plan for providing language assistance to LEP persons.