0640.37 Communication with Persons Who Have Limited English Proficiency
Refer:
• Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
• United States Department of Justice Plan
• City of Portland Resolution No. 37525
• DIR 0330.00, Internal Affairs, Complaint Intake, and Processing
• DIR 0850.30, Juvenile Interviews, Detention, and Custody
• DIR 0870.90, Waiver, Statements and Rights Notification Forms
Definitions:
• Bureau Interpreter: Portland Police Bureau members who have passed the City of Portland- approved verbal language proficiency test and volunteered and been selected to complete initial and ongoing interpreter training to serve as specialized responders to persons who have or display limited English proficiency.
• Communication Aids: Tools used to assist members in communicating with persons who have or display limited English proficiency. These may include interpreter services, mobile phone applications, and/or other remote interpreting or translation services or devices.
• Contracted Certified Interpreter (CCI): A person, outside of the Portland Police Bureau, who has been formally authorized or recognized by an accredited body as being able to effectively, accurately and impartially read, speak, understand and translate in a particular language. This includes Language Line interpreters.
• Interpretation: The process of converting a spoken or signed communication from one language (source language) into another language (target language).
• Juvenile: An unmarried person under 18 years of age.
• Language Justice: The recognition that a person’s ability to communicate in their primary or preferred language, without barriers or discrimination, is a fundamental right. The Bureau supports this right through the delivery of language assistance and communication tools, and the impartial and equitable treatment of persons who speak a language other than English or use a non-spoken language to communicate.
• Language Line: A telephonic language interpreter service that helps facilitate communication with persons whose primary language is not English and who have a limited ability to read, speak, write, or understand English. Language line also provides video remote interpreting services.
• Limited English Proficiency (LEP): Limited or no ability to read, speak, write, or understand English due to a person’s place of birth or culture, or because the person’s primary language is a language other than English.
• Meaningful Access: Lawful accommodation for language assistance at no cost to the person who has LEP. Meaningful access is a civil right that ensures that access to language assistance resources is not significantly restricted, delayed, or of less quality, as compared to programs or activities provided to persons who have English proficiency.
• Primary Language: A person’s native language or the language in which a person most effectively communicates.
• Proficiency: Demonstrable ability to read, speak, or translate a particular language.
• Translation: The process of converting written text from one language (source language) into the written text of another language (target language).
Policy.
1. This directive provides guidance for Bureau member communication with persons who have limited English proficiency (LEP) and establishes protocols for accessing interpreter services and using other communication aids to ensure effective and accurate communication with persons who have a primary language other than English.
2. Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits discrimination against persons based on their national origin, including discriminatory behavior affecting persons who have LEP. The Bureau supports language justice principles and the idea that language justice is at the core of the anti-discrimination provisions of Title VI. Therefore, the Bureau is committed to continuing to develop a robust and inclusive language justice program and expects members to make reasonable efforts to effectively engage with persons who have limited or no ability to communicate in or understand English in support of its commitment.
3. Recognizing that language and communication barriers may hinder person’s ability to access City services, understand their rights, and convey their service needs, the Bureau will take reasonable steps to have readily available resources to provide timely and comprehensive service to persons who have LEP.
4. In an effort to enhance its service to members of the public who have LEP, the Bureau shall provide to all members regular training on cultural humility, language access procedures, and other available resources to ensure language equity. Training shall consist of fundamental guidance for all members, as well as annual specialized training, such as interpreter techniques and ethics for members who are City-qualified interpreters.
Procedure.
1. Meaningful Access.
1.1. When attempting to communicate with a person who the member reasonably believes has a primary language other than English, or if the person indicates that they have LEP, members shall take reasonable steps to:
1.1.1. Determine the person’s primary language by using available resources (e.g., language identification cards, web- or application-based translation or interpretation tools, world map, non-certified interpreter); and
1.1.2. Inform the person, through written communication or another means, that the Bureau will provide interpreter services and/or other communication aids, if needed, at no expense to the person.
1.1.2.1. Members shall indicate what communication resources are available and ask the person if they need or prefer an accommodation, such as a communication aid. Members should note that a person might refuse an accommodation.
1.1.2.2. If the person requests an accommodation, members shall make a reasonable effort to provide meaningful access to interpreter services, the requested communication aid, or an alternative, if the preferred method of communication is not available.
1.1.2.2.1. If the member is unable to accommodate the request, they shall document the reason in the Computer Aided Dispatch or a police report.
1.2. The Bureau is solely responsible for the cost associated with securing and providing any communication aids.
1.3. Members should be aware that a person who indicates that they understand English, may still be limited in their ability to fully communicate in or comprehend English.
2. Core Guidelines for Using an Interpreter and Translated Materials.
2.1. In an effort to align its practices with best practice standards and a trauma-informed approach to effective communication with a person who has LEP, the Bureau encourages members to use a Bureau Interpreter or Contracted Certified Interpreter (CCI) for longer interactions (e.g., custodial interviews).
2.1.1. The Bureau encourages members to use Language Line or a Bureau Interpreter for shorter or informal interactions, unless exigent circumstances exist.
2.1.2. Use of free web-based translation services (e.g., Google Translate) does not align with best practices because of the unreliable accuracy of the translation, so members shall not use such services, unless exigent circumstances exist.
2.2. When feasible, members shall only use a Bureau Interpreter or a Contracted Certified Interpreter (CCI) to interact with a person who has LEP and shall avoid using a non- certified or trained interpreter (e.g., friends, family members, minors, etc.), unless exigent circumstances exist.
2.2.1. If there is exigency, members shall use their discretion to determine if the circumstances warrant the use of other communication aids or a non-certified or trained interpreter. Members shall consider the following factors when making the determination:
2.2.1.1. Nature of the call or incident;
2.2.1.2. Type of the police services required;
2.2.1.3. Perceived language skills or capacity of the non-certified or non-Bureau trained interpreter; and
2.2.1.4. Perceived impartiality of the interpreter.
2.2.2. When the interpreter arrives to the scene, members shall inform the interpreter of the communication methods they used, if applicable, and the content exchanged between the member and the person before the arriving interpreter begins performing interpretation for the member.
2.3. Members shall not ask a non-certified or trained interpreter (e.g., friends, family members, minors, etc.) to communicate with a person who has LEP and is suspected of committing any crime, unless exigent circumstances exist.
2.3.1. Members shall not obtain a confession from a person who has LEP or seek details about their possible involvement in a felony crime without the use of a CCI or Bureau Interpreter.
2.4. Due to the potential evidentiary value of information gathered during interviews and related investigations, the accuracy of interpreted information is critically important in the context of the following scenarios. The Bureau shall provide interpreter services for persons who have LEP when:
2.4.1. Interviewing a person having LEP who is a potential witness, victim, or suspect in a criminal investigation;
2.4.2. Conducting a criminal investigation involving a juvenile who has LEP, is a potential witness, victim, or suspect, and whose parent(s), guardian, or custodian of the juvenile has LEP;
2.4.3. A member determines interpretation is needed or as required by law for effective communication.
2.5. Custodial Interviews.
2.5.1. The Bureau shall provide Miranda warnings to suspects in their primary language, using a translated copy, or a Bureau Interpreter or CCI to interpret the warning.
2.5.1.1. When providing a translated copy, the Bureau requires Bureau Interpreters and encourages CCIs to ask the suspect if they understand what they have read and to provide interpretation, upon request.
2.5.1.2. The Bureau shall keep translated Miranda cards at every precinct and on the Bureau’s intranet.
2.5.1.3. Members shall refer to Directive 0870.90, Waiver, Statements and Rights of Notification Forms, for additional guidance regarding the communication of Miranda rights.
2.5.2. When feasible, members shall record custodial interviews to document the performance of any interpretation or translation during the interview and to safeguard potential evidence.
2.5.2.1. Members shall electronically record all custodial interviews of juveniles, as required by Directive 0850.30, Juvenile Interviews, Detention, and Custody
2.5.3. When administering a polygraph test, members shall only use a CCI.
2.6. With sufficient notice, the Bureau shall use a CCI to provide interpretation of public meetings or community engagement events.
3. Requesting a Bureau- or Contracted Certified Interpreter.
3.1. When responding to a call or incident involving a person who have or display LEP, members shall:
3.1.1. Assess the need for an interpreter, based on information known to the member at the time (e.g., member observation of the person speaking another language, the person’s lack of a response or compliance, etc.); and
3.1.2. Secure an interpreter or another communication aid when the member deems it necessary or upon request by the person.
3.2. Language Line.
3.2.1. Members may request an audio or video interpreter (subject to availability) by using the Language Line app on their Bureau-issued cell phone or a Bureau iPad located at each precinct.
3.2.2. When prompted to enter the personal code, members should enter their Department of Public Safety Standards and Training (DPSST) number.
3.2.3. When using a video interpreter, members shall position the screen so the interpreter and person for whom they are interpreting can see each other.
3.3. Other Contracted Certified Interpreters.
3.3.1. Members may request a CCI by contacting the Bureau’s language access coordinator.
3.4. Bureau Interpreters.
3.4.1. The Bureau shall maintain a list of current Bureau Interpreters (Intranet) and provide the list to BOEC. The list shall include the following information about the Bureau Interpreter:
3.4.1.1. Name;
3.4.1.2. Contact information;
3.4.1.3. Shift or voluntary availability; and
3.4.1.4. Language(s) spoken.
3.4.2. Bureau Interpreter and Primary Member Responsibilities On a Call.
3.4.2.1. When requested, Bureau Interpreters shall respond to support the dispatched member or the member managing the call (i.e., primary member) by serving solely in the capacity of an interpreter.
3.4.2.2. The dispatched or primary member who requests the Bureau Interpreter shall maintain their status as the primary member on the call. The primary member shall:
3.4.2.2.1. Fulfill all other requirements related to the call, such as investigation, collection of evidence, follow up, and the completion of appropriate reports; and
3.4.2.2.1.1. Include in their report the name of the Bureau Interpreter who provided language assistance, the language in which they interpreted, and any other communication aids they utilized.
4. Member Reporting.
4.1. When responding to a call involving a person who has LEP, the dispatched or primary members shall complete an appropriate police report, when required, documenting the following:
4.1.1. Language encountered; and
4.1.2. Type of language assistance provided (i.e., the communication aid used)
4.2. Bureau Interpreters shall complete any applicable report required by Bureau policy (e.g., force report).
5. Complaint and Intake Processing.
5.1. A community member may file a complaint (e.g., verbal, written, electronic) regarding requests for language assistance services with the Independent Police Review (IPR), Internal Affairs (IA), a Police Bureau precinct, the Police Commissioner or any Bureau member.
5.1.1. The Bureau shall ensure that complaint forms are available at each precinct.
5.1.2. The Bureau shall provide translated complaint forms, upon request.
5.2. IA and IPR shall accept and process all complaints concerning language assistance services in accordance with Directive 0330.00, Internal Affairs, Complaint Intake, and Processing.
5.2.1. Members shall use CCIs when interviewing a person who has LEP as part of the investigation of a complaint.
5.2.2. The investigating entity shall use a CCI or translation service to translate the disposition notification into the complainant’s primary language.
6. Annual Reporting.
6.1. The Bureau shall produce an annual Language Access Report that shall document the following:
6.1.1. Number of Bureau Interpreters;
6.1.2. Number of languages spoken by Bureau Interpreters;
6.1.3. Outreach efforts to community members with LEP;
6.1.4. Number of contacts with persons with LEP (e.g., dispatch calls, member initiated, etc.);
6.1.5. Languages encountered by members;
6.1.6. Communication aids used/Language access provided;
6.1.7. Number of language access-related complaints;
6.1.8. Nature of complaints and findings; and
6.1.9. Language access-related training provided to members.
- Effective: 2/12/2025
- Next Review: 2/12/2027