A group of Hispanic leaders met last week with Salt Lake police officials hoping to come up with solutions to problems faced by Latinos.
The meeting, an offshoot of a similar gathering held in November, updated progress made by three subcommittees dedicated to resolving problems or identifying goals in the area of law enforcement, prevention and demand-reduction.In law enforcement, the idea is to recruit more Hispanics to work for the Salt Lake Police Department. Demand reduction targets ways to stop dope dealers by reducing demand and prevention is aimed at strengthening resources in the community to halt crime.
"Our whole motivation is the prevention and reduction of crime," said Graciela Italiano-Thomas, chief executive officer of La Familia.
She said the prevention subcommittee is examining models for strengthening families and wants to promote a program called Families First. The organization will act as a referral service for newly arrived Latinos in Salt Lake City.
Often, she said, families need help acclimating to Salt Lake City and face struggles in identifying places to live and other services.
The referral service is intended to help those families "navigate" through society in a successful manner, she said.
Anacelia Perez de Meyer, the Mexican consul in Salt Lake City, said the challenges facing Salt Lake City's Latino community are wide-ranging and not easy to overcome.
"The youth find themselves marginalized in every way, in the classroom in education, in every group of society," she said.
Hispanic leaders say it is difficult for young children, taught traditional values at home, to encounter the nuances of today's modern society when they enter the classroom.
Adults often fail to talk it out with them, and the children are left to work it out on their own.
The consul was joined by other leaders in calling for more involvement from religious institutions, the schools and other organizations in attempting to arrive at solutions.
"As I said before, the aim is we have to have a partnership. If you do not participate in looking for solutions, you are part of the problem."
The prevention subcommittee also plans to host a public symposium on the issue of strengthening families.
Gina Camarena, a crime victims advocate with La Familia, said one area of frustration is the lack of services for crime victims who happen to be undocumented aliens. The undocumented aliens who are arrested on suspicion of committing a crime get mental health and medical services in jail, but similar services are denied to victims.
Wednesday's meeting, chaired by Salt Lake Police Chief Ruben Ortega, is part of an effort by Ortega's administration and some leaders of the Hispanic community to solidify their relationship and identify solutions to current problems.