Marietta police trying to bridge gap with Latino community

Police respond to growing Latino population

Marietta police building trust with growing Latino population

MARIETTA, Ga - More and more Latinos are calling Marietta home. Now, the Marietta Police Department is reaching out to the community in their language.

"We want people to trust us, want people to know we're here to serve them," said Marietta Police Ambassador Reina Vaquero.

Ambassador Vaquero is bilingual and she grew up in a Latin community.  She will act as a liaison between police and the Latino community.  She'll also be taking reports and talking to residents in their native language.

Police say the Latino community is often hesitant to go to law enforcement to report crimes.

"What I see is they don't say anything," said Tabernacuklor de Salvacion Pastor Fredy Perez.

Pastor Perez says he understands the fears of being misunderstood and not trusted.  He knows they must move past that.

"We got to work together, them and us to have a good communication.  After good communication, good community," said Pastor Perez.

"We're hoping this will help victims of crimes come forward, knowing they have someone they can communicate with," said Ambassador Vaquero.

At the Roswell Street Baptist Church where there's an International Learning Center, the Children's Minister says this should open the lines of communication.

"A lot of times when someone isn't familiar with the area, there can be a lot of fear, especially if they don't speak the language, so I think it's great," said Ron Daniels.