September 2003

The Memphis Shelby Crime Commission
119 South Main Street, Suite 450, Pembroke Square
Memphis, Tennessee 38103
(901) 527-2600

Introduction

Hispanics¹ are now the largest minority group in the United States.² In 2002, there were an estimated 37.4 million Latinos in the civilian population of the United States, representing 13.3% of the total.³ Among the Hispanic population, two thirds (66.9%) were of Mexican origin, 14.3% were Central and South American, 8.6% were Puerto Rican, 3.7% were Cuban and the remaining 6.5% were of other Latino origins.⁴ In the 1990’s, the Hispanic population grew from 22 million to 35 million, which is an increase of approximately 60%.⁵ As this culture becomes more pervasive within the United States, certain challenges and opportunities arise.

This report was prepared by the Memphis Shelby Crime Commission at the request of the Shelby County District Attorney General, the Shelby County Sheriff and the Director of the Memphis Police Department. The purpose of this study is to explore the current outreach that is occurring to the Latino Community by criminal justice agencies in Shelby County and to ascertain what improvements can be made.

The issues that will be examined in this study include:

1) basic overview of Latino backgrounds and ethnicities,

2) geographic locations of heavily Latino populated cities and states,

3) local assessment of what is currently being done in Latino Outreach in Memphis and Shelby County, Tennessee,

4) what specific obstacles are faced by Latino immigrants when interacting with law enforcement personnel,

5) what type of national outreach is occurring in the United States to Latino residents and,

6) what improvements can be made within the Memphis Police Department and the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office regarding outreach to the local Latino community.

The research contained in this report is primarily derived from a search of national literature, a review of best practices and telephone and electronic interviews with police departments and cities across the country.

This report would not have been completed without generous contributions of time, information, and energy from a variety of sources and resources:

Input from Richard Janikowski, J.D., Chair, Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice, University of Memphis, and Marcella Mendoza, University of Memphis, Center for Research on Women, (CROW).

Members of the Memphis Police Department responded promptly to requests for information and data. Special thanks are due to Captain Danny Stamps and Deborah Lee from the Comp Stat Division and Major Mark Collins. From the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office, Steve Shular and Wink Downen provided timely and accurate information and data.

The Shelby County District Attorney’s Office, specifically, Maria Moulin provided detailed and specific information as did the Shelby County Government Victims Assistance Center, specifically Rose Ann Keen.

Lastly, immense thanks to Latino Memphis, particularly, José A. Velázquez, the Executive Director, for providing excellent information and insight.

Table of Contents

Section I: Ethnic Backgrounds and Definitions

The terms "Hispanic" and "Latino" are used interchangeably throughout this report for the purposes of this discussion and refer to the same group of individuals. The terms convey different notions of identity and their use is a matter of personal preference or circumstance.⁶ The term "Hispanic" is derived from the Latin word, Hispania.⁷ Immigrants that link their heritage to Spain, by birth or ancestry, refer to themselves as Hispanic. The U.S. Census used "Hispanic" as an ethnic category for the first time in 1980.

The term "Latino" represents many countries of origin. Mexican Americans, Puerto Ricans and Cuban Americans are the predominant groups. Cultural and linguistic differences distinguish each nationality.

Neither term "Hispanic" nor "Latino" should be used as a racial designation. The U.S. Census considers race and Hispanic origin two separate and distinct concepts. The information obtained by the census is completely based upon self-reporting. In the 2000 Census, the question of "Hispanic Origin" was asked before "race." In the race group, respondents could mark one or more racial categories. A person of Hispanic descent can be of any race. Because of these changes, the U.S. Census 2000 data on race are not directly comparable with data from earlier censuses.⁸

People of Hispanic backgrounds have lived in what is now the United States since the 17th century. In 2000, the U.S. Census reported 34.3 million Hispanic or Latino Americans. Hispanic Americans are the fastest-growing minority group in the U.S.

The United States Bureau of the Census adheres to the federal standards for collecting and presenting data on race and Hispanic origin as established by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). The OMB defines "Hispanic" and "Latino" as "a person of Cuban, Mexican, Puerto Rican, South or Central American, or other Spanish culture or origin, regardless of race."⁹ The Hispanic American community is a mix of subgroups with roots in various countries of Latin America, such as Mexico, Cuba, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Panama.

Official U.S. government documents and the English-speaking media typically use the term "Hispanic" when referring to the larger community comprised of these varied national groups. Spanish-language radio and television stations generally use the terms Hispano or Latino. Many Hispanic Americans are uncomfortable with all of these broad categories and prefer more specific designations, such as Cuban American or Mexican American.¹⁰

Mexican Americans

Mexican Americans living in the United States – whether calling themselves Chicanos, Tejanos, or Mestizos – share the distinction of the original melting pot.¹¹ Mexican Americans, numbering approximately 21.5 million, are the largest subgroup of Hispanic Americans. Mexican Americans currently live primarily in the Southwestern United States, particularly in Texas, California, Arizona, New Mexico, and Colorado. Los Angeles, California, is often informally referred to as "the capital city of the Hispanic Southwest."¹² Mexican American communities are also found in many large cities in other regions of the country, such as New York City and Chicago, Illinois.

The history of the Mexican American community begins with the conclusion of the Mexican War in 1848. As part of the treaty ending the war, Mexico ceded large portions of Mexican territory in the Southwest to the United States. Mexicans living in these territories were granted U.S. citizenship. Most contemporary Mexican Americans trace their roots to the poor, uneducated campesinos (farmers) from rural Mexico who came to the United States in search of jobs during the 20th century.¹³

Mexican Americans are often ambivalent about Mexico. Although many feel a deep sense of connection to Mexico, some still feel betrayed by the sale of the lands of their ancestors to the United States in the 1840s. More recent Mexican immigrants often resent the fact that Mexico cannot offer them opportunities for better lives. Mexico’s economy relies heavily on the income sent back home by illegal and legal workers in the United States. Nonetheless, some Mexicans look down on Mexican Americans as people who have abandoned their heritage.¹⁴

Puerto Ricans

The second largest subgroup of Hispanic Americans is Puerto Rican. About 3.5 million Puerto Ricans live in the United States, primarily in New York and New Jersey. Another 3.8 million live in Puerto Rico, a commonwealth of the United States.

Most Puerto Ricans living in the United States are former jíbaros (rural folk) who migrated from the countryside of Puerto Rico in the 1960s. Because Puerto Rico is a U.S. commonwealth and Puerto Ricans are U.S. citizens, they are eligible for many federal benefits not available to other groups. However, many people feel that welfare programs have trapped many poor Puerto Ricans in a cycle of poverty. Others maintain that discrimination in employment and education—not welfare—are the major forces that have kept some Puerto Ricans in poverty.¹⁵

Cuban Americans

Cuban Americans, numbering 1.2 million, constitute the third largest Hispanic American subgroup. The Cuban American community is concentrated in Florida, especially in the Miami area. Most Cuban Americans arrived in the United States as political refugees following the Cuban Revolution of 1959, which brought Communist dictator Fidel Castro to power. These Cuban immigrants were mostly well-educated members of the middle and upper-middle classes, with a partial knowledge of English and a clear sense of national identity.¹⁷

Within the Hispanic community, Cuban Americans are considered intellectually sophisticated, politically committed, and obsessed with the fate of their homeland. As political refugees, many Cuban Americans, like previously mentioned Puerto Rican immigrants, received government assistance in the United States. Partly because of these advantages, the Cuban American community has generally been economically successful and politically influential in contrast to Puerto Rican residents. Cuban Americans also exert considerable political and financial influence in Cuba. With its ties to the United States, the Communist government of Cuba pays attention to the voice of the Cuban exile community in Florida.¹⁸

Other Hispanic Americans

Since the 1970s, civil wars and economic turmoil in Latin America have brought substantial numbers of immigrants from other countries. In El Salvador, conflict between leftist guerrillas and the government drove many Salvadorans from their homes in the 1980s. It is estimated that approximately 500,000 Salvadorans immigrated to the United States during the 1980s. These Salvadoran immigrants settled primarily in Washington, D.C., Florida, Massachusetts, and California. Also in the 1980s, civil war in Nicaragua drove approximately 800,000 Nicaraguans to the United States. In the Dominican Republic, a shrinking job market and political unrest resulted in a large immigration of Dominicans to the United States, particularly to New York City. These overlapping waves of immigration have produced a number of distinct Hispanic American communities, each struggling to establish a unique identity in the United States.¹⁸

Immigrants from South America, predominantly from Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru, are concentrated in the Northeast. Colombian Americans, numbering 572,000 in 2000, are the largest subgroup of Hispanic Americans with roots in South America. Ecuadorian Americans and Peruvian Americans numbered 330,000 and 271,000, respectively, in 2000.¹⁹

Hispanic American Cultural Diversity

The cultural diversity of the Hispanic American community is reflected not only in the mix of varied national groups, but also in the cosmopolitan roots of individual Latin American cultures. To varying degrees, Hispanic cultures have been influenced by Jewish, Muslim, Catholic, Spanish, African, Asian, and Native American traditions. Many people from Latin America are mestizos (people of mixed European and Native American ancestry) or mulattoes (first-generation children of mixed European and African race). Even within a single national group, these disparate cultural and racial groups sometimes come into conflict.²⁰ Attempts to unify Hispanic Americans under a single banner have often created tensions among the different Hispanic American subgroups.²¹

Cuban Americans, Mexican Americans, and Puerto Ricans often have little in common. Some Hispanic Americans find it easier to identify with other minorities rather than with members of other Hispanic groups. Cuban Americans have often allied themselves politically with Jewish Americans. Puerto Ricans have built similar alliances with African Americans.²²

Even apparent similarities sometimes mask profound differences. Although most Hispanics speak Spanish, each subgroup adapts the pronunciation and slang of its homeland to its unique circumstances in the United States. Likewise, while most Hispanic Americans are members of the Roman Catholic Church, they have inherited different religious traditions from their homelands. In the Spanish-speaking nations of the Caribbean, Catholic religious practices reflect strong African influences as a result of the slave trade that took place in the region. In Central and South America, a significant influence on the Catholic Church is the religious traditions of pre-Columbus civilizations of Native Americans.²³

In addition, while Mexican Americans and Puerto Ricans tend to endorse Democratic Party candidates in national and state elections in the United States, Cuban Americans are known for their strong conservative beliefs.²⁴

Hispanic American Identity

Despite these differences, other social forces contribute to the formation of an increasingly unified Hispanic identity in the United States. Rather than provide specialized services to each Hispanic group, the U.S. government has encouraged the creation of a single Hispanic identity.

American Spanish-language radio and television stations work hard to create a unified Hispanic market for their advertisers. Hispanic American politicians, attempting to find common ground in their diverse constituencies, have forged political alliances among Hispanic groups. These attempts to create a single Hispanic community have had positive results, but they have also led to an oversimplified understanding of the complex variety of Hispanic groups in the United States.²⁵

The Chicano movement, a campaign to secure civil rights and foster cultural pride among Mexican Americans, which flourished in the late 1960s and early 1970s, led to increased political consciousness among Hispanic Americans of all backgrounds. This new awareness encouraged various Hispanic subgroups to emphasize their historical and cultural similarities in order to forge political alliances. The 2000 U.S. Census, which counted 35 million Hispanic Americans, recognized the potential collective political power that Hispanic Americans could wield as a group.²⁶

Current Debates

Many people have come to view Hispanic Americans not simply as another set of immigrants destined to assimilate into mainstream American culture, but as a branch of Latin America in the United States. Some Hispanic Americans assert that they will never fully assimilate into the United States. Instead, they argue Hispanics will integrate into the lost territories and ultimately "Hispanicize" all of North America.²⁷

This rhetoric has been matched by the rise of anti-immigrant movements and anti-Hispanic sentiments in many parts of the United States. In the 1980s and 1990s, crude propaganda designed to create resentment against poor, Spanish-speaking workers has become common in political debates about U.S. immigration laws and bilingual education programs. Illegal Hispanic immigrants in the United States have been portrayed as a threat to national security. As the Hispanic community in the United States has grown, Hispanic Americans have increasingly found themselves at the center of debates about immigration reform.²⁸

In the long run, Hispanic influence is likely to profoundly change the predominantly English-speaking culture of the United States. Spanish is already the second most widely spoken language in the United States, and Hispanic influences are increasingly noticeable in American foods, music, and the visual arts. As the nations of the western hemisphere are increasingly linked within a global economy, the Hispanic world and the United States are rapidly discovering that their cultural differences are less important than their common interests and shared destiny.²⁹

Although the Southwest and Northeast regions of the country continue to lead in the concentration of Hispanic communities, Latinos are changing the look, sound and feel of more and more cities across the nation that have not traditionally been home to Hispanics.³⁰

The number of Hispanics in the U.S. today is greater than the entire population of Canada, and is growing at a faster rate than the general population. In fact, U.S. Latinos are the fifth-largest Spanish-speaking community in the world, behind those of Mexico, Colombia, Spain and Argentina.

Section II: Regional Distribution of Latinos in the United States

Hispanics are more likely to reside in the West and the South and less likely to live in the Northeast and the Midwest.³¹ In 2002, the regional distribution of the Hispanic population ranged from 44.2% in the West, to 7.7% in the Midwest. Some 34.8% of the Latino population reportedly resides in the south and 13.3% of the Latino population reportedly lives in the Northeastern area of the United States.³²

Latinos of Mexican origin were more likely to live in the West (54.6%) and the South (34.3%); Puerto Ricans were most likely to live in the Northeast (58%); and Cubans were highly concentrated in the south (75.1%).³³

New Mexico, California and Texas report the highest percentages of Latinos at 42.2%, 32.4% and 32%, respectively. The state of Arizona reflects a Latino population of over 25%, while Nevada reports almost 20% Hispanic population. The states of Florida and New York report almost 17% and 15% of their populations as Latinos, respectively. Illinois is the only central state that has a relatively large Hispanic population at 12.3%.³⁴ As the map below will show, the regions with the heaviest percentage of Latino populations are located in the South and West.

  The top 10 highest populated cities are listed in the table below. Interestingly, eight of the top ten cities with the highest total population are also within the top ten cities that contain the highest number of Latino residents.³⁵

Of U.S. cities that had populations greater than 100,000 residents in 2000, the following cities had the highest percentage of Hispanic residents:

Many cities in the United States have made great effort to create an environment that is hospitable to their growing number of Latino residents. These cities vary in the total number of Latinos living within the area and the percentage of the respective city that is Latino. However, what they have in common is the increasing amount of services that accommodate Spanish-speaking residents.

States with Low Percentages of Latino Residents

Conversely, many states have relatively small numbers of Latino residents. Accordingly, their outreach programs are not as extensive.

Divided almost equally, approximately half of the states in the U.S. have more Latino residents than Tennessee and about half have a smaller number of Latino residents.³⁶

Ranked from the fewest in number, the State of Tennessee is approximately mid range of all states with the smallest number of reported Latino residents.

 Similarly, when ranked from the lowest to the highest percentage of Latinos in any state, the State of Tennessee is in the lower third of all states in the U.S. regarding percentage of reported Latino residents.³⁷

The figures provided in the preceding tables reflect only the reported number of Hispanics who participated in the 2000 U.S. Census.

Regarding the issue of undercounting, the U.S. Census Bureau, Census 1990 reportedly missed 5.2% of Hispanics along with 4.8% of blacks and 1.7% of whites.³⁸ The U.S. Census Bureau estimates that the 2000 undercount is estimated at less than 2%.³⁹ Those not counted are disproportionately poor and members of minorities.

Numerous factors may explain the undercount of Latinos: vacancy and abandonment rates, crime, language barriers, age, gender, immigration status, English proficiency and literacy all correlate with census omission.⁴⁰

Section III: Illegal Immigration

The issue of illegal immigration cannot be ignored when conducting any study of Latino residents in the United States. The U.S. Census reports that 37.4 million Latinos are in the U.S. representing 13.3% of the population.

In February 2003, the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS)⁴¹ released a report that estimated seven million illegal immigrants currently living in the United States.⁴² The numbers are based on census figures from 2000 and INS statistics. The figures show that between October 1996 and January 2000, the number of illegal immigrants grew from about 5.8 million to about 7 million, an increase of more than 300,000 annually. The number of illegal immigrants who are Mexican has increased to nearly 70% of this figure from less than 60%.⁴³

Conversely, the U.S. Census Bureau issued a report that estimated the number of total illegal immigrants in the United States was 8.7 million, as of April 2000.⁴⁴ Thus, depending upon the resource queried, the current illegal immigrant population in the United States is estimated at approximately 10 million,⁴⁵ of which 70% or the vast majority of the illegal immigrants are from Mexico.⁴⁶

Locally, a study conducted by the University of Memphis estimated the number of Latinos living in Shelby County by using the approximate percentage of growth based upon school attendance. The current population of Latino residents in Shelby County is estimated at a minimum of 50,000.⁴⁷ The maximum number of Latino residents living in the Memphis Shelby metropolitan area is estimated as high as 90,000⁴⁸ to 100,000.⁴⁹ One of the University of Memphis study’s authors speculated that a minimum of 20,000 of this total are undocumented or illegal residents of Shelby County.⁵⁰

There is confusion and debate over the role of local law enforcement in the arena of immigration enforcement.

In 1979, Special Order 40 was passed in Los Angeles, California. This directive bars law enforcement officers from initiating investigations based solely on immigration status. This order does not preclude officers from assisting the INS in the execution of arrest warrants or to responding to requests for information regarding suspected illegal or undocumented residents.

Many cities have adopted similar versions of this special order: Houston, Texas; New York, New York; Seattle, Washington; and San Francisco, California.

In 1996, the Department of Justice (DOJ) concluded: "state and local police lack recognized legal authority to stop and detain an alien solely on suspicion of civil deportability, as opposed to criminal violation of the immigration laws or other laws."⁵¹ The Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigration Responsibility Act of 1996 (IIRIRA), allows the Attorney General to delegate immigration powers to local police but only through negotiated Memoranda of Understanding (MOU).

As far back as 1978, state and local police have enforced criminal immigration laws, but the enforcement of civil immigration law has been solely the responsibility of the federal law enforcement. However, in June 2002, Attorney General John Ashcroft declared that state and local police have an inherent authority to enforce civil and criminal violations of immigration law.

In a letter to United States Senator Edward Kennedy, dated May 7, 2003, the acting Assistant Attorney General, Jamie E. Brown asserts, "…states possess inherent authority to arrest individuals whose names have been entered into the FBI’s National Crime Information Center (NCIC) database because they have both (1) violated civil provisions of Federal immigration laws that render them deportable and (2) been determined by Federal authorities to pose special risks, either because they present national security concerns or because they are absconders who have not complied with a final order of removal or deportation." Further, Mr. Brown’s letter states that participation by states is completely voluntary. "No state or local law enforcement agency need participate if it does not wish to do so or if its state laws preclude such actions."⁵²

Law enforcement agencies acknowledge the need to have cooperation with all members of their communities and have hesitated to get involved with civil immigration laws. Local police departments need to spend their limited resources on preventing, investigating and solving crime. With their own budgets already stretched to the limit, many law enforcement agencies are not eager to get involved in immigration law enforcement. More importantly, they don't want to strain fragile relationships with immigrant communities. Already, immigrants underreport crimes as victims and witnesses due to language barriers and fear of police. Regardless of their status or that of their family members, immigrants would be even less likely to come forward. Law enforcement officials need the cooperation of the Latino residents within their communities in order to collect information regarding suspicious behavior and crimes being committed.

Section IV: Local Distribution of Latino Residents

The majority of Latino residents live in the corporate city limits of Memphis, however data from both the City of Memphis and Shelby County will be reflected for the purpose of this research.⁵³ The U.S. Census Bureau, 2000 reports that 61.4% of the 650,100 Memphis’ residents are black, 34.4% are white residents and the remaining 4.2% are of another race. Self reported Hispanics that have participated in the U.S. Census might be of any race. A total of 3% of residents who completed the U.S. Census in 2000 reported themselves as Hispanic.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Census 2000, the City of Memphis Latino Population totals 19,317 residents. Of this number, those of Mexican origin make up 72.9%, Puerto Ricans are 3.8%, Cuban residents are 2.7% and other Latino residents make up 20.5% of the entire reported Hispanic population in the City of Memphis, in 2000.

The U.S. Census Bureau, Census 2000 reports that 48.6% of the 897,472 Shelby County⁵⁴ residents are black, 47.3% are white residents and the remaining 4.1% are of another race.⁵⁵ The U.S. Bureau of the Census, 2000 further reported that 2.6% participants in Shelby County identified themselves as Hispanic.⁵⁶

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Census 2000, Shelby County Latino Population totals 23,364 residents.⁵⁷ Of this number, those of Mexican origin make up 69.3%, Puerto Ricans are 5.2%, Cuban residents are 3.1% and other Latino residents make up 22.4% of the reported Hispanic population in Shelby County.

The Shelby County map below is divided into census tracts as defined by the U.S. Census Bureau. The map shows the concentration of Hispanic residents living in Shelby County that participated in the 2000 U.S. Census (appendix 1).

Although the official number of Latino residents reported by the U.S. Census Bureau- 2000, is 23,364 (2.6% of the entire Shelby County population), Latino activists and local experts estimate the actual number of Hispanic residents within Shelby County to be significantly higher. The total number of Latinos currently living in Shelby County is estimated at between 50,000⁵⁸ and 100,000⁵⁹ or an estimated 5% - 11%⁶⁰ of the total county population. This estimation would actually place the number of Latino residents at approximately 25,000 to 75,000 above the census counts. This is in part due to the number of Latinos that have entered Shelby County since the 2000 census as well as the number of undocumented Latino residents.

The actual number of Latino residents living in an area is significant when viewing crime statistics involving Latinos as victims of crime to ascertain if disproportionate victimization is occurring.

Section V: Crimes Committed Against Latino Residents in Shelby County

Crime statistics were gathered from January 2001 through July 2003 in both the City of Memphis and Shelby County. (Appendix 2) However, since the overwhelming percentage (82.7%) of Latino residents live in the corporate city limits of Memphis, the city data will be the most revealing in assessing crime trends against Latinos in this area.

Incident reports taken by law enforcement agencies within Shelby County require race identification for victims. Races are defined as Black, White, American Indian, Asian, and Pacific Islander. After denoting the appropriate race, local law enforcement officers are asked to record if the victim is Hispanic or Non Hispanic.⁶¹ It is unknown how many officers make this determination by asking the victim or simply based upon the surname or appearance of the victim.⁶² Therefore, it is possible that not all Latino victims are correctly categorized in the Hispanic group for reporting purposes or for analysis.

Even though some comparisons have been made between black residents who are victims of crime and Latino residents who are crime victims, it must be denoted that black is a race while Latino or Hispanic is an ethnicity. Latino residents may be of any race.

Too, when viewing crimes committed against subgroups, many have compared the percentage of the population of a subgroup to the percentage of crime victims of that particular subgroup, assuming that they should equate proportionately. This comparison does not take into effect many other dimensions that factor into victimization. For example, when using only one variable,⁶³ ethnicity, the percentage of crime committed against Latinos is expected to be close to the percentage of population that Latinos represent.

In the City of Memphis, the reported percentage of Latino residents is 3%, while in Shelby County it is 2.6%. An individual review of each category of crime reported to law enforcement in both the City of Memphis and Shelby County was made. The majority of categories showed a lesser percentage of Latinos as victims as compared to the percentage of representation of the population. However, in two major categories of crime, these percentages are exceeded; homicide and individual robberies.

City of Memphis

During 2001, incidents involving Latinos as victims of crime were less than 3% in all Part 1 categories,⁶⁴ except in homicides and individual robberies. In these categories, Latino victims made up 7.1% and 9.7%, respectively.⁶⁵

As well, during 2002, reported incidents to the Memphis Police Department that identified a victim as Hispanic, were 3% or less in all categories except homicide and individual robbery. Latinos were victims in 5.4% and 11.2% in these categories of crimes. In addition, Latino residents that were reported victims of auto theft in Memphis rose to 3%, in 2002.

In 2003, to date,⁶⁶ all Part One crimes reported to the Memphis Police Department reveal that Latinos were less than 3% of all victims, in all crime categories, except for Homicide and Individual Robbery. In these categories, Latinos were represented at 7.1% and 6.8%, respectively.

Shelby County

During 2001, incidents involving Latinos were under represented in the county with Latinos as victims of crime in less than 2% of all categories of reported crime.

During 2002, Latino victims drastically increased their representation in individual robbery crimes by being 6.5% of all reported individual robberies in Shelby County. Latino rape victims equaled their population representation by being a reported 2.6% of all reported rapes in Shelby County.

To date,⁶⁷ three homicides have occurred outside the Memphis City limits in Shelby County, of which one victim was Latino. This resulted in a 33% representation for Latino victims in this category. There were no other categories that Latino victims exceeded the percentage of the Census reported population in Shelby County.

Analysis

Recent media reports have touted the disproportionate rate of Latinos as victims of violent crimes over the past two years. Although the raw numbers reported by MPD figures are accurate, the total number of Latinos in each community is higher⁶⁸ which does impact the overall percentage of reported crime.

If Latino residents are only 3% of the City of Memphis population and are 9%⁶⁹-11%⁷⁰ of all individual robbery victims, and 5%⁷¹-7%⁷² of all homicide victims, then Latino victims are overrepresented in these categories. However, if the number of Latinos in Memphis is estimated 5% to 11% of the population, then the range of disparity is dramatically reduced.

Even when considering the higher estimation of Latino residents, the percentage of individual robberies still exceeds the percentage of Latino residents in the City of Memphis.

There is some speculation as to why Latino residents may be targeted more frequently in the crime of individual robbery. Criminals may assume that the majority of Latino residents are not in the country legally, thereby, as victims may not report the crime. Also, offenders are aware that language barriers inhibit some Latino victims from reporting crime. Lastly, the belief that immigrants carry large sums of cash, make Latino residents prime targets for would be criminals.

There are other subgroups within the City of Memphis that also have disparity in victimization. Black residents residing in the City of Memphis comprise 61.4% of the population, yet were homicide victims over 79% of the time in both 2001 and 2002.⁷³ Black victims were over 80% of all aggravated assaults reported in the City of Memphis during the same time period and regarding the crime of rape; black residents were victims over 76% of the time. In these categories, black victims well exceeded the percentage of their population representation. However, in the category of individual robberies, black residents represented only 59% of the total victims, 2.4% under their population representation.

Race and ethnic disparities in violent offending and victimization are pronounced and long-standing. Blacks, and to a lesser extent Hispanics, suffer disproportionately higher rates of robbery and homicide victimization.⁷⁴

Analysts have long noted that some societies have much higher rates of criminal violence than others. They have also observed that the risk of being a victim or a perpetrator of violent crime varies considerably from one individual to another. Many factors must be taken into account other than solely race.

Conversely, white residents, while making up 34.4% of the city population, were approximately 11% of all the homicide victims in both 2001 and 2002. Regarding individual robbery, white residents were victims in approximately 28% of the reported cases in 2001 and 25% in 2002.

Additionally, data from the first seven months of 2003 continue to reveal the two categories that remain the highest for Latinos as victims, are the crimes of homicide and individual robbery, reported again at 7.1% and 6.8%, respectively.

Both the Memphis Police Department and the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office prohibit officers from ascertaining the immigration status of Hispanic victims or complainants,⁷⁵ thereby the actual numbers of Latino victims, which are undocumented in the county, cannot be accurately determined.

Section VI: Barriers to Cooperation Between Police and Latino Residents

Underreporting of crime from Latino residents has been cited as a major issue within the Latino population in Memphis.⁷⁶ Some members of the Latino community have an unwillingness to report crimes committed against them or are resistant to having any contact with law enforcement personnel. This may occur for a number of reasons.

Lack of Legal Citizenship – Residents who are most hesitant to report incidents to law enforcement agencies may be undocumented and may fear deportation by American law enforcement personnel. The hesitation to draw attention to themselves often overshadows the desire to report the incident.

Communication Barriers - The inability to effectively communicate with local law enforcement is a legitimate issue. Latinos who are victims may be reluctant to report the crime due to their inability to speak English well or at all. Equally, the majority of law enforcement officers are unable to speak Spanish, making effective communication difficult when taking reports and responding to calls for service.

Lack of Trust in Law Enforcement and Police - Immigrants arriving in the U.S. do not initially trust police due to their exposure to examples of brutality and corruption by police in Latin countries. The greatest challenge in the U.S. is convincing members of the Hispanic community to contact the police if they have information about a crime. In light of their treatment by police in their native countries, concerns about their immigration status and their general unfamiliarity of police in the U.S., if Hispanic residents call the police, they do not know if INS is going to respond or if the police will be like those in their homeland.

Cultural Differences - Some immigrants coming to the U.S. have difficulty adjusting to American culture. For example, Latino women do not report the crime of domestic violence as frequently as women from other ethnicities. Domestic violence is a social disorder that plays out in many families and, in a majority of cases, the abuse by men against women is a behavior that many males have learned at home. Several factors, including discrimination and the lack of bilingual/bicultural staff, have led to an under utilization of shelters and other domestic violence services by Latinos affected by domestic violence. One study of undocumented immigrants found that, for 64% of Latinos, a primary barrier to seeking help from social service agencies is the fear of deportation.⁷⁷ Furthermore, many shelters will not take undocumented victims of domestic violence since they are unable to provide resource referrals.⁷⁸

Too, some of the countries that Latinos have immigrated from do not actively enforce prostitution laws.⁷⁹ Consequently, many newly arrived Latino men do not immediately recognize that the crime of patronizing prostitutes will be enforced in the United States. In particular, the crime of prostitution is illegal in Mexico, however, law enforcement personnel do not vigorously enforce the patronizing of prostitutes.⁸⁰

Time - Many Latino immigrants are employed in positions that pay minimum wages and cannot, or do not want to, forfeit their pay for the time necessary to report the crime and subsequently go through the judicial process.

Racial Profiling – There is a strong perception in the Latino community that police frequently subject Hispanics to unwarranted arrest and detention. Many Latino residents come from countries where police brutality and corruption is commonplace. This has created resentment toward law enforcement personnel in general. It is believed that many Latino residents are profiled as criminals due to the belief by law enforcement personnel that they are in the country illegally, simply by virtue of their appearance. Many law enforcement officers throughout the county ask to see the "green card" as a routine question in dealing with any Latino that does not speak English or does not speak English well. Furthermore, the type of vehicle that is operated and the number of occupants within the vehicle also draw suspicion from local law enforcement personnel.

Regardless of the reasons, those who would prey on Hispanic residents as victims realize that these issues contribute to Latino residents not reporting criminal incidents, which subsequently increases the probability of crimes being committed against them.

Section VII: National Latino Outreach Initiatives

Many areas of the United States have taken active steps to address some of the issues described regarding providing service to Latino residents. Municipalities and law enforcement agencies have established outreach programs to the Hispanic community.

North Carolina has suddenly become a popular destination for new Latino immigrants. Since the last census, Raleigh’s Wake County has experienced a nearly 500% increase in its Hispanic population, mostly Mexicans.⁸¹ It started with the economic boom of the ’90s and huge demands for unskilled labor in the construction, poultry and meat-processing, and hospitality industries. The area is transforming from what used to be a black-white monopoly into an increasingly diverse area. Of the Triangle’s 1,031,600 residents, only about five percent are Hispanic. Although that does not sound significant, the area is receiving 10,000 new Latino arrivals annually. The future growth of this area may eventually produce the Latino capital of the east, surpassing any other city that has become too busy and too big for other Hispanics.⁸²

In Durham, North Carolina, the Hispanic Outreach and Intervention Team (HOIST) assists department personnel in conducting interviews, developing and implementing outreach programs. This unit provides information assistance and referrals to Spanish speaking members of the community, which make up 8% of the almost 200,000⁸³ residents. HOIST members are also victim and witness advocates who provide services and referrals to victims and witnesses of serious and/or violent crimes.⁸⁴

The City of Raleigh, North Carolina, has a division of Hispanic/Latino American Service. Many recent immigrants to the United States are not familiar with the American legal system or standard police policies, procedures and practices. Seven percent of the over 276,000 residents are Hispanic.⁸⁵ A portion of the city’s outreach to Latino residents includes community meetings held in order to facilitate these recent immigrants integration into the American culture. These forums include familiarization with municipal government, orientation to city ordinances and enforcement, and providing English as a Second Language (ESL) classes.

In Charlotte-Mecklenburg, North Carolina an International Relations Unit (IRU) was created in 2000. Within this unit, a Latino Robbery initiative began that focused on Latino victimization by addressing environmental crime factors in apartment complexes and promoting bank programs among the Latino community. The IRU also distributes crime prevention pamphlets and videos in Spanish.⁸⁶

In Los Angeles, California, there are 88 cities where over 9 million people live and 46.5% of them are Hispanic, mostly Mexican.⁸⁷ The City of Los Angeles contains the second-largest Mexican population in the world, and the second-largest Colombian population in the world. A program called "Los Amigos" was instituted in the late 1990’s. This program used Spanish-speaking communication operators to answer calls that provided tips on crimes occurring in the area. Extra efforts were made to ensure the members of the Latino community that the local police were not the INS. Additionally, the LAPD hosts a Hispanic Community Forum on a regular basis where various influential Latinos throughout the city meet with the Chief of Police to discuss pertinent issues that affect Latino groups.⁸⁸

In San Diego, California, the police department actively recruits volunteers from the Latino community who assist officers with witness, suspect and victim interviews during critical incidents to overcome communication barriers. There are over 1.2 millions residents in San Diego, of which 25% are Hispanic.⁸⁹

The Corcoran, California, Police Department is one of a few police departments in the United States that offers a Spanish-language citizens’ police academy, annually. The Amigos de la Communidad, or "Friends of the Community," curriculum was translated from the English academy and then tailored to meet the needs of the Hispanic community. The size of Corcoran is less than 15,000 residents, however almost 60% are Hispanic.⁹⁰ Since its inception, numerous graduates of the academy continue their involvement with the Corcoran Police Department through volunteer community patrol.⁹¹

In Nevada, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (LVMPD) established the Hispanic American Resource Team (HART) in order to maintain positive relationships with the Latino community. Of the 1.2 million residents in this area, 22% are Latino.⁹² The goals of this unit were reducing crime and victimization, reducing fear of police and establishing mutual respect and understanding within the Latino community. HART consists of a team of officers that are fluent in both English and Spanish and also come from an assortment of cultural backgrounds. HART members instituted the "Mi Casa Es Su Casa" program whereas, once a month, Spanish-speaking residents are invited to visit local police stations. Additionally, grants have been successfully pursued to hire bilingual civilians to assist the team by answering phone calls, providing information and assisting with translations.⁹³

In Arizona, the Phoenix Police Department recently introduced a bilingual detective to serve as a community liaison for its Silent Witness Program. The greatest challenge, according to law enforcement personnel assigned to this program, is to convince members of the Latino community to contact law enforcement if they have information about a crime. While the primary goal of this program is to obtain information about violent crime and criminal activity, the officers’ focus is on building better relationships with the Latino community.⁹⁴

Tucson, Arizona has a population of some 800,000, of which approximately 31% is Hispanic; Tucson is heavily bilingual and Mexican.⁹⁵ The Tucson Arizona Police Department is fighting drunk driving by Latinos through education. The department is providing saliva-activated test strips⁹⁶ that are designed to determine if a potential driver may be impaired. Many Spanish-speaking residents come from countries and cultures where drinking and driving have fewer penalties associated with it than in the United States. Latinos residents may not be aware of the DUI laws, or even understand how easy it is to become impaired. The Tucson Police Department distributes the designated driver test strips through banks, supermarkets and restaurants that cater to Spanish speaking patrons. Officers also provide the test strips at traffic stops and promote their use during key Latino holidays. The test strips are attached to Spanish language educational cards that provide important facts about Arizona’s DUI laws.⁹⁷ Other educational initiatives by the Tucson Police Department include a new computerized driving simulator — bilingually administered — that will provide an example of what it feels like to drive at varying levels of impairment.

The Scottsdale, Arizona Police Department is another law enforcement agency that has experimented with Spanish citizen police academies using simultaneous translation for the instructors and participants.

Iowa is not a state that is normally considered as a highly populated state by immigrants; however, some Iowa cities have conducted excellent outreach to their growing immigrant population.

The City of Storm Lake, Iowa, has experienced an influx of Southeast Asian refugees, followed by a large increase in Hispanic residents in the early 1990’s. The Storm Lake Police Department estimates that 30-35% of the community’s 10,076 residents is minority, and that one out of three contacts with persons involves a language barrier. Over 20% of this city’s population is Latino. In 1995, the department began a Community Service Officer (CSO) program in which civilians were hired to write parking tickets, handle motorist assists and other non-emergency calls for service, thereby freeing up officer time. Two CSO’s were hired that were bilingual in Spanish and Lao, respectively. All public signs around the police department are now in English, Spanish and Lao.

In 2000, the Des Moines, Iowa Police Department, a city of almost 200,000,⁹⁸ expanded its Neighborhood Policing Unit to include a Hispanic Outreach Neighborhood Resource Advocate (HONDRA). To the almost 7% Hispanic residents, this means "to honor and trust" in Spanish. The advocate is a fulltime commissioned officer who is both bilingual and bicultural, and whose time is devoted exclusively to the Hispanic community. The HONDRA officer has a police vehicle that is marked with "Hispanic Outreach Des Moines Police Department" and the officers’ cell phone number in order to facilitate communication with the community.

In Florida the Miami-Dade metropolitan areas’ Hispanic population is almost 58 percent of the two million residents.⁹⁹ There are also increasing numbers of Colombian, Puerto Rican, Argentinean, Peruvian, Mexican, Ecuadorian and Nicaraguan residents. The Cuban influence impacts the city politically and economically.

In Clearwater, Florida, a community of over 100,000 in population¹⁰⁰ of which 9% are Hispanic, formed a partnership called "Joining Hands: Operation Apoyo Hispano." This is a crime prevention program that focuses on building trust and a working relationship with the Hispanic population in Clearwater, Florida. In collaboration with the many public and private entities in the area, programs have been established that include a group of interpreters trained in police procedure and available to officers for translation assistance, bilingual victim advocates, community education, crime prevention and language and cultural training for police officers.¹⁰¹

Successful outreach to the Latino communities can come from other agencies as well. To help promote traffic safety education in Hispanic/Latino populations in Utah, the Salt Lake County Department of Health Safe Communities developed the FIND (Focus, Intervene, Network, Determine) program in 2000. The primary objectives were to foster community involvement to identify needs within the community and to participate in solutions, as well as plan, implement and evaluate culturally sensitive programs to prevent and control traffic crash-related injuries among Hispanic/Latino residents. The FIND program selected several culturally sensitive and population specific interventions including: a local Hispanic/Latino Traffic Safety Fair, production of an educational Traffic Safety Video for broadcast on local Spanish television stations, and a Child Safety Seat Education Campaign.¹⁰²

Across the country, progressive city governments and law enforcement agencies are putting into place programs that reach out to this growing population.

Section VIII: Local Latino Outreach Initiatives

The Memphis Police Department has approximately 2,000¹⁰³ commissioned police officers. Of this number, approximately 20 officers, or 1% are reportedly bilingual. Of the 138 communication officers, four dispatchers are bilingual, which is 2.8%.¹⁰⁴

Of the 600-hour curriculum at the basic academy for the Memphis Police Department, 16 hours are devoted to Patrol Spanish and six hours to Cultural Awareness. Some officers are Police Service Technicians (PST) prior to attending the basic police academy. PST’s receive an additional six hours in Cultural Diversity training during their academy training.¹⁰⁵ According to the Tennessee Basic Training Academy Minimum Standards for Tennessee Police Officers, instruction in the sociology of groups (ethnic and racial) is provided during the 30-hour block of instruction designated within the Human Relations portion of the academy.¹⁰⁶

The Memphis Police Department has had a Spanish-speaking outreach officer in the Crime Prevention Division since 2000. This officer has conducted outreach to the Latino Community throughout the City of Memphis.¹⁰⁷ The officer makes contact with Hispanic business owners,¹⁰⁸ residents of apartment complexes and churches within Latino communities. Additionally, appearances have been made on local Spanish speaking radio stations.

Community meetings are held at apartment complexes described as "miniature Ellis Islands."¹⁰⁹ The content of the Latino outreach from the MPD includes presentations regarding the importance of reporting crimes, recognizing gang activity and understanding American laws and culture. Flyers are reproduced in Spanish and distributed before and at the meetings.

The Shelby County Sheriff’s Office has approximately 500 commissioned officers; of which 5 officers or 1% are bilingual.¹¹⁰ In the event of foreign language calls for service to the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office, communication officers utilize the AT&T Language Line for translation and call assistance. One communication officer (or 3.4%) of the 34 police dispatchers for the SCSO is bilingual. This service was used 18 times in 2001, 94 times in 2002 and through the first seven months of 2003, 44 times.¹¹¹

The Shelby County Sheriff’s Office offers Cultural Diversity Training to new commissioned officers and a 16 hours Emergency Spanish Course in order to enhance communication while performing calls for service. Since the majority of the Latino residents in Shelby County reside in the corporate city limits of Memphis, the SCSO currently does not have a Latino Outreach program in place.

The City of Memphis and Shelby County governments have made several outreach efforts to the Latino Community. The City of Memphis has an Office of Multi-Cultural and Religious Affairs (OMRA)¹¹² that provides information to many different ethnic groups within the city, including Latinos. Specifically, from the City of Memphis web site, Spanish-speaking visitors can access some information in Spanish regarding law enforcement, education and other services in which assistance may be needed.

For the past three years, the Shelby County Government Victim Assistance Center (VAC) has provided assistance to Latino victims of domestic violence. Their outreach includes counseling and assistance in reporting domestic violence crimes, as well as explanation of, and assistance through, the judicial process.¹¹³ One bilingual individual¹¹⁴ provides outreach to Latino women regarding American culture and information as to what constitutes a crime of domestic violence. The Shelby County Government Victim Assistance Center works closely with the Shelby County District Attorney’s Office.

Finally, the Shelby County District Attorney General’s Office has had a Bilingual Coordinator Program for the past two years. One individual¹¹⁵ within the Victim Witness Unit is assigned as the Hispanic Outreach liaison. This liaison provides the same assistance to Spanish speaking victims as is provided to all victims. Some of the assistance provided by this outreach includes explanation of the judicial process, arranging transportation for Latino witnesses and victims, identification of referral sources that are available and interpretation and translation of documents.

Section IX: Police Outreach Analysis in Shelby County

Considering the size of the City of Memphis and Shelby County and the percentage of Latino residents reportedly in the community, it appears that considerable effort is made by local law enforcement and other governmental resources to reach out to this special population. That said, improvement can still be made and should be considered in several areas.

Language barriers create the most immediate concern between the Latino community and local law enforcement. Most police officers in Memphis and Shelby County speak only English and cannot communicate effectively with Hispanic community members who either do not speak English at all or have limited English skills.¹¹⁶ As reported by the Shelby County Government Victim Assistance Center, Latino victims of crime are unable to adequately express themselves effectively to help police identify suspects or explain details of crime. Law enforcement personnel seem to place more credibility to the witnesses, or even the suspect, if they are able to speak English.¹¹⁷

The need to increase the number of bilingual officers in patrol and in communications is real. Neither the Memphis Police Department nor the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office offers incentives for officers who are bilingual or can communicate in Spanish. Several cities throughout the country offer pay incentives to bilingual officers that range from 2.75% to 5.5%¹¹⁸ Officers who are conversant in Spanish are often used for special assignments or are soon placed in specialized divisions where the ability to communicate in Spanish is valued. This removes bilingual officers from the first responder positions in the field where communication with Spanish speaking residents is critical.

The Memphis Police Department handles the incoming crime calls from the community for the Memphis Crime Stoppers.¹¹⁹ The lack of a Spanish speaking 911 operators prohibits the marketing of a Spanish hot line for Spanish speaking residents who may have information on crimes that have occurred in the Memphis and Shelby County area. A partnership should be developed between the Memphis Police Department and the Memphis Crime Stoppers so that this information can be obtained.

Although the Memphis Police Department has a Latino Outreach officer in the Crime Prevention Office, one officer is not sufficient staffing when language barriers exist with such a rapidly growing population.

Most major cities with large populations of Latino residents have bilingual communication operators. Many cities still have difficulty recruiting bilingual operators despite offering pay incentives and bilingual bonuses. When a bilingual operator is not available, calls are routed through Language Lines offered by the local telephone companies. The Memphis Police Department and the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office utilize the AT & T Language Line, a service offered for $2.35 per minute.¹²⁰ The AT&T Language line has been used over 150 times for Spanish interpretation since 2001.¹²¹

The Memphis Police Department web page does not provide sufficient assistance to Spanish speaking members of the community. The site includes a link to provide information to Spanish speaking viewers, although the information contained is not current.¹²² A link from the Spanish portion of the webpage to the City of Memphis web site would be helpful for Spanish speaking residents. At the time of this report, neither the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office nor the Shelby County Government web page has links or information for Spanish only residents on their respective websites.

Cultural Diversity Training helps police break free from their traditional stance of being separated from the community to a more inclusive philosophy of being a part of the community. Law enforcement personnel, like others, tend to lump cultures into races or nationalities. Unintentional conflicts can result from not understanding cultural norms and differences. The acceptance and management of diversity cannot be a program or a strategy only. Personnel changes and policy changes must occur throughout the organization for genuine impact to occur.¹²³ The Mid South Training Institute has offered a two day course entitled, "In Your Own Back Yard: The Latino Immigrant Among Us." This course was provided to local law enforcement and criminal justice professionals to help develop an understanding of the Latino community, especially as it relates to criminal justice issues.¹²⁴ This type of training is preferable to shorter courses that may not provide the cultural understanding or depth. It provides patrol officers cross-cultural strategies that emphasize professionalism in effectively handling law enforcement situations.

Section X: Conclusion

The Memphis Police Department, the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office and the District Attorney General’s Office, along with several private resource agencies, have made significant efforts to reach out to the Latino Community. The City of Memphis and Shelby County are doing considerably more than other cities of similar sized population in these outreach efforts. However, this should not be interpreted to mean that nothing further needs to be done in this area. The current private and public efforts to serve the Latino community should persist, while new initiatives should be considered as the Latino population of Memphis and Shelby County continue to grow. With this realization should come the requisite planning and preparation, particularly by local law enforcement agencies, to preempt potential problems before they arise. Continued, consistent efforts need to be made in the following areas.

Section XI: Recommendations

Recommendation #8 – Conduct targeted recruiting efforts to the Latino community by reproducing recruiting information in Spanish. Provide English as a Second Language (ESL) classes as a part of the recruiting outreach. Incorporate the recommendations of the Memphis Shelby Crime Commission Best Practice #12 on Police Recruiting.¹²⁵ Engage the Memphis Police Department and recruiting personnel within the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office to target the Latino community for law enforcement employment opportunities.

Recommendation #9 - Consider a Spanish Citizens’ Police Academy. Invite 20-40 influential Hispanic residents to participate and to learn of the citizens’ and the police department’s role and responsibility in responding to calls for service. Once trained, these individuals would be able to share specific information to members of the Latino community and enable an informal method of releasing accurate law enforcement information to the Latino Community.

National Latino Peace Officers Association www.nlpoa.org

Appendix 1 Census Data, 2000     (click to view)

Appendix 2 Memphis Police Department Statistics on Latinos as Suspects and Victims of Crimes in 2001 and 2002       (click to view)

Notes

61. People who identify their origin as Hispanic, Latino or Spanish may be of any race.

81. Durham Police Department website www.durhampolice.com

84. Durham Police Department website www.durhampolice.com

86. www.charmeck.org/department/police/crime+info/international+relations/home/asp

125. Best Practice #12, underway. Scheduled to be released in 2004.