Public Safety Signals
A discussion of Public Safety issues and why they matter
Public Safety and Community Interaction
2008 Jan 17 Posted by Joseph Pascarella
The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) recently presented a translation technology device known as the “Phraselator” that the LAPD has been using since the end of last summer. The Phraselator is a device in which a police officer can choose from a menu of of languages, input a voice command in English, and then that voice command is transmitted out of the device in the chosen language. The device is small enough that patrol officers can carry on patrol.
One of the enduring struggles in public safety on an operational basis is community interaction and a large barrier to community interaction has been communication in that public safety workers often work in areas with many different cultures and languages. For example, in Los Angeles, there are 224 different languages spoken. Improving communication skills between the community and public safety workers is advantageous in every respect, from day to day interaction to large scale disorders. After numerous social disorders in the 1960’s, the government conducted studies and determined that the police were removed from the community and needed to interact better. Since that time, the United States has become much more culturally diverse and hopefully technology such as the Phraselator is a viable attempt to bridge communication gaps.
Take care and stay safe.
Joe Pascarella
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Public Safety Signals provides a venue for those working or interested in the public safety field to join in a conversation about the latest news, trends and important issues related to public safety.
Authors
Dr. Steven Barthelmeus
Program Chair,Public Safety – Criminal Justice/Forensics program, Capella University
Dr. Jeffrey Rush
Asst. Professor of Criminal Justice/Homeland Security, Dept. of Public Management and Criminal Justice, Austin Peay State University
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Mary Jo Nelson Says:
Dr. Pascarella:
It’s unique how this “Phraselator” instrument has come to forefront the past couple of months. I first read an article in Policeone.com about the LAPD using it and thought how useful it is. I mentioned it to our dispatch center as perhaps a way to integrate it into their system as Salt Lake is becoming more diverse and received a cool reception upon the mention of it…but usually a cool reception is followed by someelse’s good idea, that’s ok though just as long as people know the technology is out there. I even mentioned it in a class discussion within the past couple of weeks. The old adage, “isn’t technology wonderful” is once again useful.
Respectfully,
Mary Jo
February 17th, 2008 at 3:49 pm