Quinceanera expo seeks to improve police diversity

QuincePoliceExpo
(Photo:www.mariepromdress.co.uk/white-prom-dresses)

An ongoing concern about the lack of diversity among Delaware police departments has prompted seven agencies to partner on a quinceanera expo.

The First Latino Teen Outreach Event for a Diverse Law Enforcement is planned for 2-6:30 p.m. Aug. 16 at Delaware Academy of Public Safety and Security Charter High School, 801 N. Dupont Highway in New Castle.

The Delaware Technical Community College Criminal Justice Program, Delaware Police Chiefs’ Foundation, Delaware State Police and New Castle County, Delaware River and Bay Authority, Wilmington, Dover and Georgetown police departments are taking part.

The event started last year as a vendor fair for those preparing for a quinceanera, a rite-of-passage in Hispanic communities for 15-year-old girls.

Michael Terranova, chairman of the criminal justice program at DelTech’s Stanton campus, approached organizers shortly after he was elected to a three-year term as president of the Police Chiefs’ Foundation, a nonprofit organization that represents agencies.

Terranova said police chiefs during his introductory meeting with the group also talked about a perceived lack of trust in the Hispanic community. Out of those discussions grew a meeting with Ronaldo Tello, director of the community outreach program Latino Access Services, and an introduction to Jorge Toledo and Marilu Mendez, who organized the 2014 expo.

Terranova said police staff will be on hand to meet with the teens and discuss options in the field.

“The reason why we’re targeting the younger kids is because a lot of them in high school make a lot of poor choices such as drugs, and criminal activity,” he said.

The number of Hispanic residents in Delaware nearly doubled between the 2000 and 2010 census periods, to 74,842 residents. The U.S. Census Bureau, using updated 2013 data, estimated the Delaware Hispanic population is 8.3 percent, although many law enforcements do not reflect the demographic makeup.

Six percent of New Castle County Police Department’s non-office personnel, like officers, are Hispanic, according to agency data. The Dover and State Police departments are around 2 percent. Georgetown’s force of 14 has one Hispanic officer.

A lack of Hispanic officers is creating barriers between police and citizens, said Andres Gutierrez de Cos, a personal injury attorney based in Marshallton. He said clients have told him about being police discrimination, including the use of the term “Driving While Hispanic” by police.

One police report said his client wasn’t interviewed after she was rear-ended because she was “from Mexico and does not speak English. No interview was conducted,” de Cos said.

“The more diverse our police are, the more holistic approach they’re going to take toward people,” he said. “There can’t be an ‘other’ if within them there’s already diversity. There can’t be that ‘us against them’ mentality like in Ferguson, Missouri.”

Members of the various participating police forces are expected to hold an educational panel about careers in law enforcement on the main stage during the event. They’re also going to have a few tables with the vendors to table their police department and talk to members of the community.

The fair won’t be all business for the police. A few uniformed officers will participate as escorts for the main event, a beauty pageant and giveaway of a quinceanera party worth $5,000 in food, catering, entertainment and other services.

The event also will include vendors offering their services for anything related to a quinceanera, such as photography and video, cakes, caterers, hall rentals, DJ’s, party planners, choreographers, dresses, and bands for live regional Mexican entertainment.

Also scheduled is a fashion show featuring works by Mexican gown designer Adan Terriquez, modeled by participants in a beauty pageant. Plus one participant will model the wedding dress of Ana Patricia, co-host for Univision’s morning show “¡Despierta América!,” and former winner of popular beauty pageant Nuestra Belleza Latina 2010.

Tello said the quinceanera themed event is important in presenting information from the police to the Latino community in a neutral and non-threatening setting.

“This is a pathway to good things happening,” he said.Read more at:www.mariepromdress.co.uk/one-shoulder-prom-dresses

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