Customer Reviews

Essential Spanish for Law Enforcement (Living Language Book)

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I work in law enforcement and have a degree in Spanish, but I found I lacked the vocabulary to discuss in Spanish a lot of the subjects that came up in the course of my work. Essential Spanish for Law Enforcement has done an excellent job of getting my vocabulary and syntax up to speed. Be advised, however, that these books (one main text and a smaller reference book) and tape (which repeats much of what's in the books) are NOT designed to teach you Spanish if you don't already know it. It does contain some information on grammar, but it's really more of a refresher for those who have had some Spanish instruction in the past and may have forgotten a few things. If you have no Spanish skills at all, I recommend you start somewhere else otherwise you'll find you're just memorizing a bunch of sounds that have little meaning to you. Think of this as a compilation of useful words and phrases to help you in your daily work. In that regard, however, it's excellent. The information is grouped into a number of real-world topics such as traffic stops, DUI's, gang-related crimes, domestic violence, sexual assault, towing a vehicle and many more. Whoever helped put together these words and phrases obviously has law enforcement experience as they are very well choosen. Other books I've purchased seemed to be written by people who did not work in this field and were merely guessing what they though cops would need to know. If you learned everything in this book, you'd be well equipped to deal with the vast majority of situations you'll encounter at work. I haven't found any one book that covers everything, but this is the best resource I can recommend for law enforcement personnel who have at least a little Spanish training.

I bought this title because I work in law enforcement in an area where a number of the people I contact have limited English skills and my Spanish skills are also limited. This text has been a great help in explaining things to people, conducting DUI Tests and in other areas. The main key is to familiarize yourself with Spanish pronunciation and then reading from the book when needed is not a hindrance. While some areas need to be expanded on in the book, and it does not in any way replace the occasional need for better language skills, it is a very useful book and is small enough to be carried in your gear bag so it will be close at hand.