Andres David Lopez

Earlier this month, the Spring Valley Police Department hosted a community resource event for Spanish speakers at the Louis Kurtz Civic Center.

“For the Spring Valley Police Department, it doesn’t matter what country you were born in, what language you speak, what car you drive,” said Richard Oleszczuk, Spring Valley Police Chief. “If you need help, I want you to know you can come to the Spring Valley PD and we will help you out to the best of our abilities.”

The department designed the event to connect with, inform, and empower the Hispanic community, according to the event flyer.

Representatives from local government agencies and nonprofits, including the Rockland Council on Alcoholism and other Drug Dependence and the Center for Safety & Change, delivered remarks in Spanish or were helped in translation by Officer Edwin Mata of the Spring Valley Police Department.

Detective Andre Riobe said the department has identified 37 languages spoken by Spring Valley residents and is prepared to bridge any language barriers.

“We will definitely find a way to communicate so you can relay your message and get help,” he said.

Jacqueline Blumfield, a Spring Valley Community Police Officer, encouraged people in the Hispanic community to report all crimes. She warned that someone telling you not to report a crime is likely trying to take advantage of you.

“We don’t want you to believe that,” Officer Blumfield said. “If you are the victim of a crime, we want to help you.”

One of the issues that several mothers in our community brought up is chronic absenteeism from school and the need for youth programs. Several identified themselves as active members of parent teacher associations. They held phones to record video clips of the event to share on social media.

Officer Blumfield and Detective Riobe admitted to limited resources and access to school attendance records to police truancy, but they offered the department’s youth police program (YPP) as an example of a local opportunity for young people to receive mentorship, positive values, and participate in activities such as tennis and camping.

The program is year-round, free, and available to all Spring Valley families.

Arcia & Associates has been in Spring Valley serving Rockland County for more than 10 years.

Thank you, Chief Oleszczuk, for inviting us and for building bridges with Spanish speakers in our community. We are grateful the department is committed to outreach.