Foothill Police Begin Language Lessons : Diversity: Officers study Spanish in hopes of bettering communications with their community.

In the fictional world of TV’s “Hill Street Blues,” the roll call roomwarning to the police troops was “Be careful out there.”

On Monday, in the real world of the Los Angeles Police Department’s Foothill Division in Pacoima, the roll call room message was more like “Tengan cuidado por alla.”

Turning the roll call room into a classroom, more than 100 officers began taking Spanish lessons at the station in a pilot program that department officials hope will increase the ranks of bilingual officers throughout the department.

Funded by a consortium of corporate donors to the department, the 30-week program costs $580 per student and is designed to teach officers conversational Spanish. Officers already receive Spanish language instruction during their Police Academy training, but there is no continuous training and officers said the academy classes are geared toward teaching them how to deal with criminal suspects.

“We need to know how to talk to victims and witnesses who don’t speak English,” Officer James Kuklok said. “Hopefully, this program will help.”

Kuklok was one of the 109 officers-- nearly 40% of those assigned to the station--to volunteer for the off-duty program, which requires about five hours of classroom and home study each week. Foothill Division primarily serves Pacoima, Sylmar, Lake View Terrace and parts of Sunland and Tujunga. Police said that about 55% of the population there is Latino and that many do not speak English.

“The frustration level is really high when officers try to deal with victims and others who don’t speak English and there are not enough Spanish-language-speaking officers to go around,” said Lt. Richard Meraz, who helped organize classes as part of the department’s Spanish Language Outreach program.

If the program is successful, it may be offered in other divisions, Meraz said.

Kuklok and other street officers said learning more than the simple commands taught at the academy will enable them to communicate better with crime victims and witnesses, and may even help catch criminals faster. Kuklok said that when he arrives on the scene of a crime, he must often seek out a translator, which slows down his efforts to find out what happened and get descriptions of perpetrators.

“In the amount of time it takes, a suspect can get away,” he said. “That’s why I want to learn this.”

“Your immediate need to talk to a person and get information is lost,” Sgt. Peter Whittingham said of such incidents. “It happens all the time. Sometimes you need a description; you need to find out what is wrong. You need it now, not in 15 or 20 minutes when a Spanish-speaking officer is found.

“What we learn in the academy is geared toward giving instructions to suspects. We need to be able to communicate with victims and witnesses.”

Officers said they were willing to commit their free time to the program, taught by One Twelve USA, because it will improve their job performance.

“You need the Spanish,” Officer Tim Conmay said. “There are so many people out there who speak Spanish only, and it will help me do my job better if I can communicate with them.”

Among those taking the 10- to 12-student classes were detectives, gang officers and desk officers. Foothill’s commander, Capt. Tim McBride, and the San Fernando Valley’s top officer, Deputy Chief Mark Kroeker, also signed up.

Kroeker said the program shows the department’s commitment to improving its service and relationship to the community.

“The primary result is enhanced communication with a substantial part of the community,” he said.