In the two years that Salt Lake police officer Isaac Atencio has done his Friday afternoon radio show, he has received at least two tips from listeners that resulted in arrests.
But Atencio's Friday noontime show on KTUR-AM is not a Spanish-language radio version of "America's Most Wanted.""That is only part of what we do," Atencio said. "People who come from other countries sometimes do not know the police here. With this program, we reach out to the Hispanic community."
Atencio and radio host Hum-ber-to Monzon talk about everything from preventing neighborhood crime to how to get a driver's license.
"Our objective is to educate Latinos about our laws and how they work," Atencio says.
Recently, Atencio and Monzon bantered on the air before getting into the day's topic of domestic violence. Atencio talked about changes in Utah law that give police more discretion in asking for temporary restraining orders against abusive spouses.
Atencio also made his weekly pitch to Latino residents: Get involved in community politics, get to know neighbors and report crime to police.
It was a slow day on the show as only a handful of listeners called in. But the station has received as many as 50 calls during the hour-long program, says General Manager Samuel Terrero.
One of the show's biggest responses came from a program dedicated to recruiting Latino can-di-dates for the Salt Lake Police Department.
The program is part of a new approach for the department that has found police work is not just about cops catching the bad guys.
"There are not going to be enough cops to fight crime," he says. "You need to work with all of the communities. They have to be our eyes and ears."