On June 27, JPD announced the department would begin using handheld electronic translators to better communicate with suspects and victims. Photo by R.L. Nave.

The Jackson Police Department is taking steps to improve communications and relationships with non-English-speaking residents in the city. On June 27, JPD announced the department would begin using handheld electronic translators to better communicate with suspects and victims.

The department has 10 devices, which cost $950 each. The department purchased them using a grant from the U.S. Department of Justice. JPD is training officers, supervisors and investigators to use the new equipment, which it distributed to each precinct, special units and to members of the communications division of the police department.

"This makes us more of a global community that's more inviting to people from all over the world," Mayor Harvey Johnson Jr. said to reporters. "It is great for our law enforcement's police officers to be able to communicate with all these individuals, whether they reside here, come here to visit or are on business."

Bill Chandler, a member of the Mississippi Immigration Rights Alliance, told the press that the use of the devices "is an important step for the city of Jackson."

The device comes with pre-loaded commands unique to law enforcement. The text translation feature enables officers to communicate with suspects during the interrogation process. A public-address and speaker system also allows officers to talk to larger crowds. Each device can translate in several languages, including Spanish, Arabic and Korean. It does not, however, contain a complete vocabulary for all the languages, limiting its translating functionality.

Despite the helpfulness of the translator, the time it takes to type questions presents an issue. Chief Rebecca Coleman still believes that the response time will be quicker during certain situations.

"It is a device that we can use that will be available to those officers when we don't have someone that is readily available to translate," Coleman said.