In July 2008, Mayor’s Executive Order 120 required the NYPD to take all reasonable measures to provide access to police services for LEP (Limited English Proficiency) city residents and visitors. Published in April 2009, the NYPD Language Access Plan spells out how the department should proceed in order to guarantee both equal access to services and equal legal rights to as many people as possible.
The NYPD used the U.S. Department of Justice’s “Four Factor Analysis” to decide which LEP populations to focus on. This decision-making system takes into account general demographics, agency-specific demographics, the services provided, and the resources designated for language assistance.
The general demographic analysis, for example, revealed that the top six LEP languages in the city were Spanish, Chinese, Korean, Haitian Creole, Russian and Italian.
The Language Access Plan is currently under review by the US Justice Department, as reported by the New York Times earlier this month. “A Justice Department spokeswoman said the audit had not been prompted by a complaint, but rather was part of a standard review process of agencies that serve large numbers of people with little or no English proficiency,” report Al Baker and Ray Rivera.
The audit is expected to take about six months.
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