At a time when Americans remain divided over hot button issues like artificial intelligence and policing, some say new technology is helping officers break down barriers and connect with their communities.
Officers in dozens of police departments around the country are using a variety of devices to instantly communicate with the millions of people in the United States who primarily speak a language other than English.
Officer Jaclyn Douillard is one of them. While on patrol in Tampa, Florida's historic Ybor City neighborhood, Douillard sometimes found herself calling in a bilingual colleague to help facilitate conversations with residents or tourists multiple times a week.
But when Douillard recently encountered a Russian woman whose purse had been stolen, she said she was able to get a detailed description of the missing items all on her own - thanks to her body camera. The device, produced by Axon, comes equipped with real-time translation capabilities.
"It has been a significant change in our day-to-day just interactions with the community, and you can just see them light up and have a different response when they're being heard in their own language," said Douillard.
