13 Aug Pittsburg Police Hosts First ‘Palabras Con la Policía’ Event to Build Trust With Latino Community

Pittsburg Police spoke and socialized with the public at John S. Buckley Park for “Palabras Con la Policía,” or “Words With the Police,” in an effort to build trust with the community.

Story and photos by Emily Molina

The Pittsburg Police Department spent an afternoon building relationships with families at its first “Palabras Con la Policía,” or “Words With the Police,” event.

Held at John S. Buckley Park in the predominantly Spanish-speaking Alturas neighborhood, the event brought residents and officers together to talk about safety and strengthen community ties.

The event came to fruition with the help of Officer Sandra Salazar, who said she saw a need to connect the community and the police department, particularly for Latino residents to feel welcome to engage with the department.  

According to the most recent available data from the U.S. Census Bureau, 43.9% of Pittsburg residents are Hispanic/Latino, making that the largest ethnic group in the city’s population.

City Council member Angelica Lopez, who serves on the city’s public safety subcommittee, said the department makes itself accessible to residents by hiring bilingual officers.

“Denouncing a crime in our language is half the battle,” said Lopez. “If we can’t speak the language, we can’t tell the story of what’s going on.” 

Alturas resident Mari, who said she was not comfortable with providing her last name, said that speaking with bilingual officers who listened to her concerns gave her a positive impression of the department’s efforts to help her neighborhood. She appreciated being able to speak with officers in Spanish about the car thefts in her neighborhood and her own experience as a victim of car theft. 

The website CrimeGrade.org gave Pittsburg as a whole an F for vehicle theft. Crime statistics provided by the city of Pittsburg only go through September of last year but show that there were 468 motor vehicle thefts in 2024 up to that point, putting the city on pace for an increase from the 593 thefts in 2023.

While Pittsburg police officers are focused on local public safety, Lopez acknowledged that federal immigration enforcement has fueled unease in immigrant communities. 

“The council wants to see more community involvement from the police, especially with Hispanic residents,” Lopez said, “because civil unrest had grown to the point where some people were afraid to report crime.”

In early June, the Pittsburg Police Department released a statement reaffirming its commitment to community safety and denouncing immigration enforcement by ICE. 

Salazar hopes events like “Palabras Con la Policía” can better illustrate the police department’s values of public safety and build good relationships with residents. She said officers are always helping residents regardless of how minor the issue is. 

The Pittsburg Police Department does not ask about immigration status when responding to residents and their policies are aligned with the Government Code and the California Values Act regarding immigration detainers, according to their statement. 

For Salazar, her priority as an officer is to ensure trust between the police department and residents to encourage residents to reach out to the department for their safety needs. 

“I don’t want people to feel like there’s a fear of contacting your local police department because of everything happening,” said Salazar. 

Right off the bat at the event, some attendees asked officers how to report crime to the department when they needed help.  

Glenda Rivera lives a few doors down from the park, and said she’s seen officers respond quickly to any issues in her neighborhood, which she says gives her peace of mind.

Rivera brought her nephews to socialize with the officers at the event because she wanted them to have a positive experience with police. And she said they did, having fun playing soccer with an officer.

“Sometimes, kids grow up negatively about the police, but having these interactions with officers will help kids and parents know they’re safe in any emergency,” said Rivera. 

Sgt. Kyle Baker said that an evening like this one — where officers are sharing ice cream and socializing with residents, enjoying ice cream together and speaking with them about what police officers do — is a great way to strengthen relationships with people. “In law enforcement, we wear a lot of different hats, and one of our favorite ones is the one that gets to connect with folks and build relationships.”

Police Chief Steve Albanese said the positive reception would lead to more community conversations.

“Our officers are people just like them, and we’re here to make their lives better if we can,” said Albanese.