In the salsa-rich 40th Precinct, where bright bodegas animate street corners and Spanish often resonates from one end of the block to the other, Detective Mike Cruz's Spanish fluency is as much a crime-fighting tool as his handcuffs and gun.
"They either think I'm Italian or Greek," said Cruz, 33. "A lot of them [suspects] would speak Spanish right in front of me and I could get them."
About 60 percent of the 80,000 residents of the 40th Precinct are Hispanic. Ninety of the 250 police officers who patrol the area are also Hispanic.
Some of the bilingual police officers are convinced that language skills are critical to the job. A cop who can speak the language can engage in diplomacy before resorting to force, soothe tempers in domestic disputes and teach Spanish-speakers about crime prevention. Non-English speakers can often give Spanish descriptions of suspects, leading to arrests.
"The language is helpful when you have to deal with very sensitive issues," said Cruz, who grew up with Spanish-speaking parents and learned English in school. "You can better articulate in their language and put them at ease about some of their problems and let them know that some things aren't as hopeless as they may seem."
Officer Luis A. Colon, a community relations specialist, said he sometimes uses Spanish when he talks about policing at lectures, tenant association meetings and school visits. Sometimes he gives a lecture in English and then again in Spanish, or he talks separately with Spanish- speaking members of the community afterward.
"I had a robbery where the person who was robbed couldn't speak English," said Officer Nemesio Rodriguez, 31. "Thanks to my ability to speak Spanish, I was able to get a good description of the person who committed the robbery and we were able to catch the perpetrator."
Rodriguez said that he recently handled an automobile accident involving an Asian man who couldn't speak any English.
"I felt that sense of anxiety because he wanted to let me know what happened," Rodriguez said, adding that a person's intentions can be misunderstood when translated. "The translation is never the same. They will just nod their heads," he said.
But there is a reverse effect when communication is crystal clear. "They treat you like family when they see you on the street," Rodriguez said. "They become friends for life. A lot of them come for advice."