Voiceover:
00.00   This is The Beat - a podcast series that keeps you in the know about 
the latest community policing topics facing our nation

Pradine Saint-Fort:
00.08   Hello. My name is Pradine Saint-Fort, and I'm a program associate in 
the Center on Immigration and Justice at the Vera Institute of Justice.

In 2010, the Vera Institute and the COPS office partnered to produce a guide 
for law enforcement agencies looking to either begin or to enhance their work 
with immigrant communities.

The guide is a national report titled "Engaging Police in Immigrant 
Communities: Promising Practices From the Field." This report profiles 
promising practices from 10 policing agencies from across the country. And 
this podcast is part of a series of recordings that accompany the report. 
Each podcast is in Q and A format and they each provide practical advice from 
agency personnel who have been involved in the promising practices featured 
in our national report.

In this podcast, we are joined by Sergeant Rafael Fernandez of the 
Metropolitan Nashville Police Department in Tennessee. Sergeant Fernandez was 
one of the full-time officers assigned to the department's El Protector 
program. He's here today to talk about using radio shows in community 
outreach.

Thank you for joining us, Sergeant.

Rafael Fernandez:
01.07   Well, thanks for having me.

Saint-Fort:
01.08   Before we talk about the radio shows, could you share a little bit of 
information about what El Protector means and what the El Protector program 
does?

Fernandez:
01.16   Sure. El Protector means The Protector. And the El Protector program 
seeks to strengthen the relationship between the Hispanic Latino community 
and the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department through various outreach 
initiatives. You know: initiatives like health fairs, workshops, and even a 
Facebook page.

And we work with a number of different community members, private and public 
sector organizations, and media outlets, to make sure we are reaching the 
community and meeting their needs.

Saint-Fort:
01.42   Thank you for that. That's definitely going to frame our 
conversation. Now, let's talk a little about the media and specifically the 
radio. Why did you decide to go on the radio to reach Metro Nashville's 
Hispanic or Latino community?

Fernandez:
01.54   Well, when the El Protector program started in April of 2004, we went 
out to churches, schools, community centers, and we gave presentations in 
Spanish on DUIs, domestic violence issues, and other topics. And after while 
we discovered that many people were very reluctant to come out to those 
presentations and we really understood why. Immigrants these days are very 
apprehensive of letting law enforcement come into their community spaces, so 
those who are undocumented fear being deported and don't want to let law 
enforcement know where they live.

And being on the radio gives us the opportunity to reach those who want 
information but are still afraid of speaking with a police officer. And on 
the radio we also have a greater reach. And we can talk to several hundred 
people at one time, depending on the radio station we are on at the time, 
obviously. And we are currently on four radio stations and we reach a diverse 
group of people within the Hispanic community.

Saint-Fort:
02.51   Is the format the same for each show?

Fernandez:
02.53   No. The formats are a little different. At one radio station, we have 
our own regular show, the El Protector Show, which is run entirely by us. The 
other three radio stations are generally call-in shows. And sometimes we pick 
a topic to talk about and we have people call in or we'll leave it up to the 
listeners to determine the show's direction for that hour.

On the show, Officer Ramirez and I have joked around and made fun of each 
other, so, we tried to change it up as often as we could to keep it fresh, if 
you will.

Saint-Fort:
03.22   Great. So, what kinds of questions do callers typically ask?

Fernandez:
03.26   You know, generally callers ask questions about the police department 
and laws in Nashville. But by far most of the questions that we get asked 
deal with drivers' licenses. We also get a lot of questions about quality of 
life and personal safety issues, like concerns about neighbors using or 
selling drugs, loud music, and trespassing.

And we also get a lot of questions regarding the juvenile justice system and 
how to tell if your child is in a gang. They will also ask us about kinds of 
crime prevention programs that are available for troubled kids. You know: 
programs like the boot camps.

Saint-Fort:
03.58   That's a broad range of topics. Are there any topics that are off-
limits?

Fernandez:
04.02   No, we've never announced that certain topics would not be discussed 
on the radio. So there's really nothing off-limits. On the contrary, we've 
encouraged the community to call us about anything. The community understands 
that and we've never had to cut anybody off because we thought the topic was 
inappropriate.

Saint-Fort:
04.18   Oh. That's a really valuable resource for the community, and I can 
imagine when you open it up that way it might lead to some pretty tough on-
air questions. What's the toughest question you've been asked?

Fernandez:
04.29   Well, some of the toughest questions to answer are those where people 
ask about a personal situation or encounter with a police officer and they 
want to know why the officer resolved the issue the way he or she did. They 
want to know why they went to jail instead of getting a citation.

Those are difficult questions to answer, obviously, because neither myself 
nor Officer Ramirez was there. So, we let people know that officers have the 
discretion to handle a call based on the officer's assessment of the 
situation at the time. The officer's five senses at the scene, knowledge of 
the law, a criminal history of that person, and demeanor of that people all 
factor in on the decision on how a call is resolved. It's different for each 
officer, and we try to get that message across to the community.

Saint-Fort:
05.15   Does anyone ask about your personal opinions on, like, the laws or 
the rules that they are calling and asking about, and how do you handle that?

Fernandez:
05.22   Well, it's difficult to answer questions that ask for our personal 
opinions about laws or rules. For example, someone would ask, "How do you 
feel about undocumented people not being able to get drivers' licenses?" 
Well, we can't give our opinions on questions like that. If we did, people 
would think that opinion applies to all police officers. And we explain on 
the air that our role is to inform the Hispanic community about the 
regulations and clarify matters so they're not left in the dark. We're not 
lawmakers, but we just follow the rules and laws that exist.

Saint-Fort:
05.53   So what about when you don't have the answers? How do you handle 
those questions?

Fernandez:
05.57   Well, the best way to answer difficult questions like that is by 
always being honest. And when we're unsure about an answer, we let them know 
that. We also let them know that we'll go find the answer. We usually find 
the answer during a commercial break and can put that information on the air 
pretty quickly. And setting the record straight on issues and questions is a 
great way of gaining the confidence of the community.

Saint-Fort:
06.19   What advice would you give to an agency that would like to reach an 
immigrant community or another community through a radio show?

Fernandez:
06.25   Well, we think it's all about commitment. Agencies that want to be on 
the radio need to look at what issues are affecting the community and need to 
let the community know that the agency is committed to addressing those 
issues. They need to have agency personnel that are committed to regular 
radio appearances, committed to discussing the issues, no matter how 
uncomfortable.

And, more importantly, committed to being honest with listeners. Whether the 
agency takes a serious approach or a humorous approach, or mixes it up on the 
radio, the community needs to see that the officers are honest and truthful. 
Honestly will really go a long way. And people know that when we tell them 
something on the radio that we are there to assist them and not to misguide 
them. And the community responds well to that.

Saint-Fort:
07.07   Thank you. That's very powerful advice, Sergeant Fernandez, and thank 
you so much for sharing this with our audience.

Fernandez:
07.12   And thanks for having me.

Voiceover:
07.14   The Beat was brought to you by the United States Department of 
Justice COPS Office. The COPS Office helps to keep our nation’s communities 
safe by giving grants to law enforcement agencies, developing community 
policing publications, developing partnerships, and solving problems. 




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