By KIMBER SOLANA

About two dozen Salinas police officers are set to take an intensive Spanish-language course to help them interact with, and get information from, non-English speakers.

The 24-hour voluntary course, spread over six weeks, is slated to start in about two weeks. In addition, officers will be asked to study at least two hours a day on their own.

The course is geared towards helping officers get certain information — from the names of people they interview to details that may lead to an arrest — when, for example, they respond to a crime scene or conduct a traffic stop.

“This isn’t like college,” said Salinas police Sgt. Mark Lazzarini. “You can’t learn the language in 24 hours. [The officers] will get what they put into it.”

The program is part of the Police Department’s outreach to the Salinas Spanish-language community.

More than 60 percent of the city’s residents speak Spanish as their primary language, while less than 25 percent of all sworn Salinas police personnel speak it, according to Police Chief Louis Fetherolf’s 180-day report, released in October.

“This is a matter of officer safety as well as positive service delivery ability,” Fetherolf says in the report.

In October, department spokesman Officer Lalo Villegas began a weekly Spanish-language radio program.

The Spanish course is certified by the Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training, or POST. It is taught by Alejandra Gomez of Public Safety Language Training based in Morgan Hill.

Gomez, who has 20 years of experience teaching Spanish, said the students will attend the classes each week beginning Sept. 15. Participants are provided with materials that allow them to study on their own for two hours every day.

The officers will also learn about Latino culture, she said, and be encouraged to practice the language in their day-to-day lives.

“When you take your lunch, ask the cook for his name in Spanish,” she said. “Learning a foreign language is like exercise. The only way you can get stronger is to work hard.”

The training is paid for by the Police Department. Officers have to take the course on their own time and can’t incur overtime for it.

Lazzarini could not provide the program’s cost Thursday, but said it was “reasonable” per student. Officers interested in taking the course need approval from their supervisor.

Other law enforcement officials, including Monterey County Sheriff’s deputies, will partake in the upcoming session.

The session is about double the size of the department’s first six-week course, held in the spring. Lazzarini said the first set went well, but due to police staffing shortages, several participants could not finish the course.

Gomez said there were times when an officer had to be called to a crime scene and missed a session.

Lazzarini has moved the classes from evenings to afternoons, which he hopes will be a better time for participants.

Gomez, who also teaches English at the Morgan Hill Community Adult School, said learning Spanish is a great tool for Salinas police officers but that it shouldn’t end there.

“Communication is a two-way street,” she said. “The Latino community also needs to learn English.”

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