Cincinnati's Top Hispanic Media: Spanish Journal & Radio en Español (#1 Latino newspaper and radio news), Radio La Ley (#1 Latino Radio Station), Nuestro Rincon (#1 Latino TV Program), and MidwestLatino (#1 Latino Web Portal), are working together supporting the newly created VIP (Volunteer Interpreter Program).

The Volunteer Interpreter Program, or VIP as we call it, is designed to better serve the needs of our growing population of residents that do not speak English, or have a limited English vocabulary. It will assist Cincinnati's Police officers with report taking, and interviewing of victims and/or witnesses of crimes. While currently it will focus on Spanish speakers, in the future, the VIP will include interpreters for the many languages spoken in our community.

Currently, the VIP has a team of volunteers from various Latino/Hispanic countries that have been specially trained to assist the police department when they encounter community members with limited English language skills. We are all aware that many crimes and victims in the Latino community go unreported due to a fear, based on an experience in their past, or a fear of possible deportation or involvement of INS.

The above mentioned Hispanic/Latino Media will promote this program within our local Latino community in order to create a positive image for it, so our Latino residents feel comfortable in reporting crimes or emergencies by calling the 911 number.

We are seeking your assistance to provide additional outlets to help us publicize the Volunteer Interpreter Program. Also, if you would like to volunteer, please contact us (click here...)

On Tuesday, we had the first information briefing for Police officers at the Police Station at Hyde Park. We had a chance to exchange ideas with them and learn more about the issues they're facing. Some of the volunteers also accompanied police officers in the patrol cars to learn first hand about their jobs.



More pictures are in the Cincinnati section of our Photo Gallery (click here...)