Law enforcement agencies in San Mateo County get high grades from the civil grand jury for their efforts to communicate with non-English-speaking people.

The agencies "have responded well by implementing written policies for language access and instituting hiring procedures designed to recruit multilingual personnel," the grand jury says in a March 20 report.

In the report, "Can We Talk? – Law Enforcement and Our Multilingual County," the grand jury chose to look at whether the agencies were effective in providing police services to the non- or limited-English-speaking public. The 911 dispatch "provides good service to the non-English population by furnishing translation services when necessary," the report said.

The grand jury recommended that cities and towns in the county lacking policies and practices dealing with translation issues enact such policies and practices, including subscribing to translation services, educating employees, and issuing smart phones that provide access to free translation services such as Google Translate.

Click here to see the grand jury report.

— Dave Boyce

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