Law enforcement policies that govern interactions with individuals considered to have limited English proficiency are lacking, according to a recent report from ACLU of Utah.
SALT LAKE CITY — A new report suggests a large portion of Utah law enforcement agencies are falling short when it comes to serving individuals who speak little to no English.
"Utah law enforcement agencies at every level — state, county and city — have many reasons, and even obligations, to have policies in place," the report reads. "We recognize that there are operational restraints associated with these recommendations and that Utah law enforcement agencies have varying budgets and resources. Yet, we also underscore that providing limited English proficient services is not optional but required under federal law.
Provo Police Department and Sevier County Sheriff's Office were the agencies with the most deficient policies, according to ACLU of Utah. Overall, 25% of Utah sheriff's offices and 12% of surveyed police departments in the state had no formal language policies in place.Consequences of the findings could result in a number of detrimental outcomes for both individuals and communities, the report says, such as false arrests, persons inadvertently waiving their rights or English-speaking domestic violence abusers silencing non-English speaking victims.
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