Criminal Justice Delegation Visits Valley

Among the representatives from the Texas Regional Community Policing Institute at SHSU who met with border officials earlier this month were (from left) criminal justice graduate student Ron Cutlip and institute director Phillip Lyons.

A delegation from the Texas Regional Community Policing Institute at Sam Houston State University conducted a site visit in the Rio Grande Valley region of the state May 7-9 to identify crime and policing issues confronting the immigrant community.

One of the worst-case scenarios of which they were informed during their visit became a reality just a few days later, when 19 immigrants who were being smuggled illegally into Texas were found dead in a trailer in Victoria.

The SHSU delegation included the Institute’s director, Phillip Lyons; the chair of its governing board and director of the Bill Blackwood Law Enforcement Management Institute of Texas, Rita Watkins; a master’s student in criminal justice at SHSU, Ron Cutlip, who works for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Houston and coordinates its Weed and Seed Program in the Valley; Robert Werling, a staff member with the Institute who is a doctoral student in criminal justice at SHSU; and David Epps, media specialist with the Criminal Justice Center.

The delegation was informed about myriad problems confronting immigrants, particularly those whose entry is undocumented. Many are preyed upon by law enforcement agents and civilians alike as they make the trek from their homelands—often thousands of miles away—to the U.S. Border.

Once there, the dangerous crossing into the United States is made more so by the smugglers, known as "coyotes," who bring them into the country illegally. Having taken their life savings, these "coyotes" often then beat the immigrants, rape the women and girls, and leave them for dead in the desert. The recent tragedy in Victoria involving the loss of 19 lives is an example of the problems involved.

"Adding insult to injury, the victimizations often go unrequited," said Lyons.

"Deep-seated fears of the police based on experiences in their countries of origin, a dearth of information about the role of the police in the U.S., language barriers, and fears of repatriation all conspire to ensure that the victims suffer in silence," he explained.

As part of its overall mission to promote community oriented approaches to policing to serve all communities in Texas, the Texas Regional Community Policing Institute is focusing its attention on vulnerable populations such as undocumented immigrants that typically have been excluded from community policing endeavors.

According to Lyons, similar efforts are underway at the Institute to build bridges between the police and the other populations or communities including children, people with mental illness and mental retardation, and lesbians and gay men.

The Texas Regional Community Policing Institute at Sam Houston State University was established in 1997 through funds provided by the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services in the U.S. Department of Justice. One of approximately 30 such institutes, the Institute is a member of the only national training network that provides comprehensive and innovative community policing training on timely issues affecting law enforcement agencies and the communities they serve.

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SHSU Media Contact: Julia May
May 21, 2003
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