Immigrant is vital police liaison to Hispanics

SPRINGFIELD, Ore. – Thelma Barone knows firsthand how difficult it can be for some immigrants to understand the United States’ criminal-justice system.

Barone recalls that after she moved to the United States from Mexico, she was pulled over by a police officer.

“I got out of my car to talk to the officer and he started yelling at me to ‘Get back in there!’ In Mexico, you get out of your car when you get pulled over. But not here,” she said.

Nowadays, it’s Barone’s job to teach Spanish speakers how the system works, and ensure they get the attention they need from local law enforcement.

A University of California, Los Angeles, graduate who emigrated from northwest Mexico to Southern California at age 21, Barone works as a community service officer for the Springfield Police Department. The bulk of her duties involves acting as a liaison between the department and the city’s Hispanic population.

Springfield Police Chief Jerry Smith said Barone’s position is crucial to serving the growing Hispanic community.

“It helps us bridge a large language gap and provides a mechanism for them to get assistance,” he said.

No one is sure of the size of Springfield’s Hispanic population, but it appears to be expanding rapidly. The 2000 census put it at 3,600 people, or 6.9 percent of the city’s population. But Hispanic advocates say it is likely double or triple that because many Hispanics don’t take part in the census.

Since Barone was hired in 2003, grant funding from the state has covered the bulk of her salary and benefits. Smith is hoping that will change in the near future. He’s asking Springfield’s budget committee to approve paying for her position through the city’s general fund, which would mean the end of police officials’ crossing their fingers and hoping the grants are renewed annually.

To fund the position, the budget committee would have to come up with about $70,000 for the fiscal year beginning July 1. Springfield City Council President John Woodrow, who has one of the panel’s 12 votes, says he supports using the general fund to pay some or all of Barone’s salary and benefits.

“It’s something I am going to advocate for as much as I can,” Woodrow said. “With the growing Latino population in Springfield, that position is a key gateway to providing those citizens with the services everyone else has.”

Barone also spends several hours a week at the Lane County Child Advocacy Center, where she works with women from throughout the county who have been victims of domestic violence. While recognizing the importance of that work, Smith said there is a need for Barone to spend more time performing outreach in Springfield – which would be possible if her position no longer was funded through a domestic-violence assistance grant.