Deputies Go Back to School. Loudoun, Virginia

“Two years ago, Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office investigator Scott Mastandrea struggled to communicate with non-English speaking residents on the road and over the telephone.

“I spoke very little Spanish,” Mastandrea said. “I would try and act out what I was trying to say, but it wasn’t very effective.”
Loudoun County Sheriff Stephen O. Simpson is aware of the language barrier between some county deputies and non-English speaking residents. The county’s population is becoming increasingly more diverse and so, there is a need for bilingual deputies.

Sheriff’s spokesperson Kraig Troxell said 7.5 percent of Loudoun’s population is Hispanic. That number has doubled since 1999. An estimated 3 percent of the county’s population speaks English poorly or not at all.”

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