Police Must Win New Allies

The dramatic changes in Orange County’s ethnic makeup in the last decade as reported in the 2000 federal census figures are more than just interesting statistics.

The growth since the previous census of 46% in the Latino community and 63% in the Asian population translates into about one out of every two residents now being nonwhite.

That change also has resulted in a shifting population that now means that white residents are the minority in 10 cities. In six others they are just over the 50% line and probably will become the minority within several years.

The rapidly changing demographics raise challenges in relations between police and the community. Police officers must build and maintain new relationships that foster mutual respect and cooperation with the residents they are sworn to serve and protect.

At least two incidents in recent months emphasize the importance of building that kind of climate and highlight the growing need for more bilingual and community-oriented officers.

Latinos make up the largest ethnic group in Anaheim. Several months ago, Latino activists protested to the City Council after a federal Immigration and Naturalization Service officer stationed at the city jail started deportation proceedings against an 18-year-old woman. She had been stopped by police for a traffic offense and was taken to jail when she couldn’t produce identification.

The most recent was in Huntington Beach where, on May 5, a police officer shot and killed an 18-year-old farm worker police saw peering into a truck. According to police, the man ran and was shot when he aimed a rifle at the pursuing officer. The rifle was later found to be a toy. The shooting has sparked protests in the Oak View neighborhood, one of the city’s poorest and heavily populated Latino areas.

Many Latinos in the neighborhood say they support police, which indicates the department’s years of community outreach have had some success. But others in Oak View have complained about police conduct toward residents, and there was a march on City Hall in protest of the police shooting.

That indicates how much work still needs to be done even in a community that already has made an effort.

Now that Orange County communities have been experiencing major ethnic and cultural changes, there is work to do in many law enforcement jurisdictions.