CHARLOTTE, NC — Charlotte’s Spanish-speaking population is booming, but it is also being targeted by crime. CMPD is reaching out to the Hispanic community, hoping to work together to fight the trend.
Charlotte’s Hispanic population is growing faster than any other region in the country.
“Because there’s jobs. It’s a great place to bring up a family. The weather is fantastic,” says Armondo Bellmas of the Latin American Coalition. “All the same reasons why you and I come here, they come here as well.”
Charlotte’s Hispanic population nearly doubled from 7.4 percent in 2000 to 13 percent in 2010.
Officers in CMPD’s Steele Creek Division have seen that growth continue in an area they call “The U”: Nations Ford, Arrowood and Archdale Drive.
They’ve also seen a 30 percent jump in robberies in the first quarter of 2014, with many victims being Hispanics who are targeted because they traditionally carry large sums of cash. But thanks to outreach from CMPD and the community, that is changing.
“They’re not carrying the cash that they used to in the past. I mean, a lot of them are using banks,” says CMPD officer Alex Cruz.
The language barrier is another obstacle.
“They say ‘Oh, this police officer speaks Spanish. This police officer is of the same heritage,'” says Bellmas. “And they start to trust the police a little bit more.”
Steele Creek Division has six Spanish-speaking officers. It helps to build that trust, and relay vital information.
“We’re able to get an officer to the scene relatively quick to translate and put the information out over the air to share with the other officers on the shifts,” says officer Cruz.
The emphasis is on helping Hispanics protect themselves and their families. CMPD hopes it pays off for both residents, and the officers who serve them.
“There’s more of them than there is us you know. So they see things that we don’t see,” says officer Cruz. “We’re hoping that they make us aware of the things that we don’t see.”
CMPD has 67 Spanish-speaking officers on the force. The department plans to add more as the area’s Hispanic population continues to grow.
