The West Palm Beach Police Department has an incomparable opportunity to progress to the next level of policing. We have a large creole speaking population in West Palm Beach. We also have very few organizations in the community which deal with problems, issues, and concerns within the Haitian community. The goal is to provide resources and information to the creole speaking population in West Palm Beach.

PROBLEMS:

• The Haitian community has a cultural fear of police due to past experience and abuse from police in their native country.
• They believe that every encounter with police is a criminal investigation or harassment.
• They believe that any interaction with police is not good and would most likely result in them going to jail.
• The most significant problem is the language barrier, fear of deportation, and unreported crime and victimization.

OBJECTIVES:

• West Palm Beach police officers to band together to build bridges to the West Palm Beach Haitian communities.
• An attempt to bridge the language and cultural gap between law enforcement and the city’s growing Haitian population.
• To open lines of communication among Haitians in the community and to improve the quality of life for the entire community.
• To build trust in the community and inform Haitian natives about the laws in the United States.
• To provide various translators where the Haitian community can relay information to solve crimes.
• Form relationships with local organizations to help distribute valuable information and resources to the citizens of West Palm Beach and the entire Palm Beach County.

We, as Law Enforcement officers believe that we can only achieve our goals by partnering with local churches, schools, and various organizations within the community. Together we can bridge the gap between the citizens of West Palm Beach, local organizations, and the West Palm Beach Police Department.

We invite you to join us at our first Haitian Outreach meet and greet on February 26 at 6:30 pm at the West Palm Beach Police Department, 600 Banyan Boulevard, West Palm Beach in our Community Room located off our front lobby. We encourage you and your organization to join forces with us. We are asking for at least one person from your organization to be present with information about your resources and services for the Haitian community.

Please let us know if your organization/representative would be able to participate on the above date. Once again we thank you for your time and we look forward to hearing from you. Please contact us at 561-822-2002 or email us at jlouis@wpb.org and/or wsamaroo@wpb.org.