One of the biggest obstacles area officers and agents face is the language barrier. Some estimate the number of Spanish-speaking residents in the Birmingham-metropolitan area up to 150,000 - far higher than U.S. Census numbers, with fewer than a dozen police officers fluent in Spanish among some 2,000 area law enforcement officers. Some departments in recent years have made efforts to do better, seeking Spanish-speaking officers and dispatchers, but the gap continues to widen. "I am requesting that the next agents we get in here speak Spanish, if that tells you anything," said the FBI's Bowden. Only two FBI agents in Birmingham are fluent in Spanish. He said he is also trying to launch a Mexican Violent Crime Reaction team comprising Spanish-speaking officers and agents, a one-stop shop ready and willing to help all law enforcement agencies should the need arise.

...because only about a dozen of the 2000 officers in the Birmingham area can speak Spanish.

Wow. However, there is some good news. Andrew Jackson University is uniquely positioned to assist law enforcement in developing these tools. This summer, we began distributing Spanish translation cards to law enforcement departments throughout the country; so far, we have distributed the cards to over 160 departments. As a visual aid to assist non-Spanish speaking officers deal with Spanish-only speaking witnesses, use of these cards has already made a significant difference in protecting the public by helping law enforcement catch criminals. (For a copy of the card, contact Tammy Kassner at: tkassner@aju.edu)

Additionally, several months ago, Andrew Jackson University teamed up with textbook publisher McGraw-Hill to develop a Spanish course directly tailored to police officers. The course - which will be available in both one-hour and three-hour credit versions - should be ready for enrollments later this fall.

When I got into this business of education, I realized that I had finally escaped the technological haze of Silicon Valley and was now in an industry where I could help people realize their dream. Now it's become clear to me that can mean so much more...by providing educational services to law enforcement, AJU can help make Birmingham an even safer place...now that’s taking education anywhere – to where it's really needed!

Happy Studying, 

Don Kassner