In this episode, Leslye Orloff, director of NIWAP, Detective Shelli Sonnenberg from the Boise, Idaho Police Department, and Investigator Michael LaRiviere from the Salem, Massachusetts Police Department continue their conversation around how to provide effective language access and best practices for agencies when implementing language access for all victims and witnesses. They discuss the best practices on working with an interpreter, how to get the most accurate information, they reflect on past experiences with language access issues, and lessons learned as examples from real cases. They end with tips on how to bring language access resources to other law enforcement agencies.

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In this episode, Leslye Orloff, director of NIWAP, Detective Shelli Sonnenberg from the Boise, Idaho Police Department, and Investigator Michael LaRiviere from the Salem, Massachusetts Police Department talk about language access for crime victims and witnesses. The podcast talks about working with immigrant communities where language and cultural barriers exist, the challenges that exist in working with immigrant communities and the legal responsibility of law enforcement in serving immigrants with limited language access. What the rules and regulations are when law enforcement works with members of the community that have less English proficiency, the resources available to immigrants and requirements of qualified interpretation.

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In this episode, NIWAP Director, Leslye Orloff, Sergeant Inspector Tony Flores from the San Francisco Police Department, Officer Irene Lee Klein from the West Hartford Police Department, and Sharla Jackson from the Prosecuting Attorneys Counsel of Georgia continue the discussion in talking about how law enforcement agencies get and disseminate information and tools (such as the Department of Homeland Security’s blue shield campaign) about the various forms of immigration relief available to victims of crime. They discuss accessibility issues and how lack of accessibility can be a problem in serving victims. The podcast then touches upon how T and U visa are used as a tool to build relationships with the community, how victims requests for police reports are handled and finally the discussion ends with the speaker’s offering tips on how communities can be built to serve victims better and the resources NIWAP’s library has available on this topic.

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In this episode, NIWAP Director, Leslye Orloff, Sergeant Inspector Tony Flores from the San Francisco Police Department, Officer Irene Lee Klein from the West Hartford Police Department, and Sharla Jackson from the Prosecuting Attorneys Counsel of Georgia talk about building relationships between the criminal justice system and those they serve along with best practices for working with immigrant victims. They discuss outreach of services that law enforcement and victim services have for people within the community (both before and after incidences of crime). The podcast also touches upon the importance and advantages of the outreach and established relationships with the immigrant communities.

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In this episode, NIWAP Director, Leslye Orloff, Jane Anderson, a former prosecutor, now with Aequitas, and Christopher Freeman, a prosecutor from Hennepin County, MN talk about the importance of certifying early in the U and T visa process. They talk about basics of timing around certification, the helpfulness component of certification and the benefits of early certification to the victim as well as to the certifying agency. They further discuss the positive impact of early certification on the underlying case and address the fears around non-cooperation of victims. The episode ends with speakers identifying the resources and tool available to prosecutors and certifying agencies on the benefits of early certification.

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In the first episode of Pathways, NIWAP Deputy Director, Rocio Molina sits down with Tara Patet, a prosecutor in St. Paul, MN and Investigator Michael LaRiviere from Salem, MA Police Department to discuss the basics of U-Visas. Created in October 2000, U-Visas are designed for victims of certain crimes who have suffered mental or physical abuse and are helpful to law enforcement in investigation or prosecution or criminal activity. In this episode, we introduce U-Visas and how law enforcement can use them when investigating these cases. We also cover the certification process and discuss the concept of "helpfulness" when issuing a U-Visa.

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In this episode, NIWAP Director, Leslye Orloff, Jane Anderson, an attorney advisor at Aequitas and Christopher Freeman, a prosecutor from Hennepin County, MN talk about trial strategies and preparation tactics for prosecutors, law enforcement and victim advocates in cases involving U Visa witnesses, victims with U Visa application or those seeking some forms of U Visa relief. The podcast addresses some of the challenges and concerns that prosecutors have around U Visa cases and how to address those. They discuss the concerns around discovery obligations and issues in a U Visa relief, and direct listeners to the resources available on NIWAP’s website for discovery issues. The podcast focusses on trial preparation tips such as jury selection, litigating pretrial motions, court education and how to address the U Visa issue on stand.

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In this episode, Stacey Ivie, a Detective and Task Force Officer with City of Alexandria, VA Police Department answers some frequently asked questions about the U Visa and debunks myths centered around the U-Visa certification process. She talks about the role of the certification agency, addresses the myths around certifying versus sponsorship, false reporting and non-cooperation from victims. Overall, Stacey Ivie emphasizes that filing U-Visas is important because it helps the criminal justice system and gives law enforcement opportunities to combat crimes generally and not just within the immigrant population.

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NIWAP YouTube Channel