City leaders confident that multicultural unit will aid communication

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Pittsburgh's Public Safety department is angling to strengthen ties — and trust — with refugee and immigrant communities through a multicultural program.

The new Multicultural Liaison Unit will translate police, fire and medic materials into several foreign languages, hold events for the immigrant community and supply multicultural training for Public Safety recruits, the city said in an announcement Monday.

Legislation to support the plans is due Tuesday before City Council. An agreement with the Heinz Foundation should deliver a $50,000 grant for the measure.

“We all are boots-on-theground ambassadors for the city. [We] all have those personal, one-on-one connections through our work,” police Cmdr. Eric Holmes said.

Efforts under the unit should emerge in the coming months, although some work has begun, Cmdr. Holmes said.

The push follows a community policing recommendation in the Welcoming Pittsburgh plan that Mayor Bill Peduto released in 2014 — an initiative to make the city more attractive to immigrants.

Among its duties, the unit will focus on:

• Translating and distributing “Watch and Learn” videos that explain basic laws. The material, featuring police, fire and emergency medical workers, will be available in the five most common foreign languages in Pittsburgh: Arabic, Chinese, Nepali, Spanish and Swahili.

• Hosting events such as “Know Your Rights” sessions and the “Immigrant and Refugee Public Safety Academy” for immigrant and refugee populations. Community discussions also are expected.

• Incorporating multicultural training into new recruit training for police, firefighters and emergency medical workers. The education will help first responders “effectively address and support the public safety needs of residents with various cultural backg ro u n d s and limited English language skills,” the city said in a statement. [Cmdr. Holmes said longerserving police officers have undergone proceduraljustice training that includes multicultural elements.]

Council is expected to hear a presentation on the plans this month.