Hazleton Police Department

The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania and the Justice Department announced the United States has reached a settlement agreement with the Hazleton Police Department (HPD) and the City of Hazleton, Pennsylvania, to help people with limited English proficiency (LEP) communicate with the police.

The agreement resolves a Justice Department investigation of the HPD under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Title VI prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, and national origin by recipients of federal assistance, such as the HPD. The Justice Department initiated its review after receiving a complaint from the Community Justice Project on behalf of an LEP Hazleton resident who, on two separate occasions, within days of each other, had been forced to rely on his young son and then a co-worker to communicate with the police. HPD has since agreed to secure appropriate and reliable means of communicating with the City’s large Spanish-speaking community. 

Press Release: English