By Jeff Munks
In the early 1980s, the City of San Jose faced a significant challenge when over 65,000 Vietnamese refugees settled in the area during the Great Boatlift. Overnight, the linguistic landscape changed dramatically, with around 10% of the city’s population speaking Vietnamese — a language unfamiliar to most residents, including public safety officials. The San Jose Police Department had only one officer fluent in Vietnamese, who was not available for emergency dispatch situations.
As a bilingual patrol cop in 1980s San Jose, I was able to help other officers deal with Spanish-speaking residents, but on a busy Friday night, that changed. I was sent to a residential address off Senter Road in south-central San Jose. The dispatcher had advised, “9-1-1, unknown circumstances, language barrier.”
Upon arriving at the scene, I took precautionary measures due to the uncertainty of the situation. When I encountered the caller, a Vietnamese man, communication was nearly impossible as the man spoke no English. Using hand signals and my service weapon for assurance, I managed to establish a basic level of communication but frightened the family I was there to assist. With the help of the man’s young son, who spoke some English, we eventually clarified that the call was about a missing teenager, not a violent emergency.
This incident is one of many that highlight the struggle law enforcement officers face in bridging language gaps. With a significant portion of San Jose’s population speaking languages like Vietnamese, Cambodian, and Laotian, the need for effective communication tools was pressing. During my 19 years of experience in law enforcement, the need for a reliable form of communication between public servants and non-English-speaking citizens has only grown.
The experience on that Friday night in the ’80s opened my eyes to the importance of closing communication gaps between public safety professionals and community members. If I was struggling with this, then I knew that other officers around the country were going through the same thing. I set out to discover the different tools officers could use to communicate effectively.
A reliable and cost-effective alternative
Fast forward to today, and the landscape of language assistance is evolving thanks to advancements in technology. Traditionally, public safety agencies have relied on Network-Based Interpretation (NBI) services, which charge between one to four dollars per minute for interpreter access. These services also require a three-way interaction between field officers, the subject and the interpreter, which can take precious time and make interactions more complicated. The need for a more efficient and affordable alternative solution has been apparent for years. That’s where AI-powered translation devices come in.
Cost-effective machine translation solutions present a compelling alternative. Using these devices is easy, intuitive and fast. There’s no longer any need to wait agonizing minutes for a remote provider to find an interpreter and get them on the line. With a machine translation device, the moment public safety personnel determine they have a language barrier, accurate communication can take place. This technology can be a literal lifesaver in an emergency situation.
Building trust and safety
Implementing spontaneous translation devices that exceed privacy and security regulations, such as ISO 27001, GDPR and HIPAA standards, can enhance the service public safety agencies provide. It ensures that officers can interact respectfully and effectively with more community members, ideally fostering trust and open communication and, at minimum, assuring a better initial understanding of the situations they are responding to. This is crucial for building authentic relationships between law enforcement and the diverse populations they serve.
Moreover, these devices’ data capabilities allow agencies to record and store transcripts of all interactions, providing a useful resource for investigations and accountability. This feature, combined with the ability to translate written documents instantly, positions machine translators as powerful allies for officers in the field.
New horizons in machine translation
With recent immigration trends, first responders, police and public safety officials are interacting with increasing numbers of people who speak languages other than English. Immigrants from across the globe are resettling in communities nationwide, and the challenges associated with language in public safety and enforcement are escalating.
By embracing advancements in machine translation, agencies can improve their operational efficiency, reduce costs and, most importantly, enhance the quality of service provided to all members of their communities. This ensures that every public safety official is able to offer the same level of service to all who live, work, or travel through their jurisdiction.
In an era when effective communication is critical, leveraging technology to overcome language barriers is not just a practical solution; it’s a necessary step toward ensuring safety and fostering trust within our increasingly diverse populations. That’s a powerful message to convey for an agency working to build authentic bonds of trust and open lines of communication with those they are sworn to protect and serve, regardless of the language spoken.
About the author
Jeffrey Munks has had careers in the military, metro law enforcement, business and higher education. He started the world’s largest over-the-phone interpretation service and sold it to AT&T. With venture funding, he launched one of the world’s first eLearning companies. He was hired by the U.S. Navy as a principal architect of FLAG University, a career-long executive development program for Navy admirals. Jeff currently serves as a business development consultant for Pocketalk, a Palo Alto-based company that is helping public safety agencies communicate more effectively and efficiently with people who speak languages other than English.