Crime Stoppers offers Spanish line

Columbia -- The state's Spanish-language speakers now have a toll-free number they can call to report crimes and give tips to police.

The new S.C. Crime Stoppers Spanish tip line comes on the heels of the creation of a controversial state law that requires law enforcement officers to check the immigration status of anyone they detain or question in connection to crimes.

Critics have said it will intimidate the state's Hispanic residents, especially illegal immigrants, from calling police when they are crime victims because they fear deportation or don't want to be hassled over legal documents.

The Midlands' Hispanic community praised the Spanish tip line, which allows callers to remain anonymous when reporting crimes via phone calls, text messages or e-mails.

"Recent legislation has created a division between Hispanics and law enforcement," said Gregory Torrales, president of the S.C. Hispanic Leadership Council. "Law enforcement came out today and extended an initiative to bring in and embrace the Hispanic community. It is going to strengthen the relationship, not divide it."

The new Spanish tip line was announced during a news conference attended by some of the top law enforcement officials in the state, including U.S. Marshal Kelvin Washington and new State Law Enforcement Division Director Mark Keel. Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott led the event, which was held on the Statehouse steps with nearly two dozen officers in attendance.

"It's a community we care about," Lott told those gathered. "We want to reach out to them to get information."

Crime Stoppers created the new hotline because of the state's growing Hispanic population.

In 2010, 5 percent of the state's 4.6 million people were Latino, the Census Bureau reported.

The state Crime Stoppers board has been discussing a Spanish tip line for several years, said Joey Hudson, a Greenville businessman who is president of the Southeastern Crime Stoppers board of directors. But it took time to install the technology that would allow Spanish speakers in all 46 counties to have access when dialing the same toll-free number used across the state, he said.

S.C. Crime Stoppers was founded in South Carolina in 1982. Since then, its hotlines have received more than 100,000 tips and have led to the capture of 21,000 suspected criminals.

"Crime Stoppers works," Lott said.