 Immigrants from Asia represent one of the fastest growing immigrant groups in the Chicago metropolitan area. They come from China, Vietnam, South Korea, Laos, the Philippines and other countries. The group shares many characteristics of the broader eastern culture, but people bring with them customs and traditions unique to their individual homelands. Hello, I'm Chaplin Dean with the Chicago Police Department. This is the sixth in a series of videos to expand your knowledge and understanding of the many diverse communities within our city. Having even a basic knowledge of a person's customs and culture enables police officers to conduct their duties in a more efficient and respectful manner. Today we explore the Asian community. There are over 50 Asian ethnic countries that are incorporated in the category of Asian American. And so every country is lumped into that category on the basis of region. You have a series of countries, there are various countries here that are really separated by history, by culture, by religion, by language, for example, so that you have very distinct countries and where you may have folks that appear to look the same physically, the opposite is quite true when you look a little bit beneath that surface. From Chinatown on the south side to Argyle Avenue on the north, in communities all across the city, the Asian culture thrives in Chicago. Some people bring a lot of money, but that's very rare. Some people just came here and tried to focus on the children's education and they believe in the system of America and they try to build up their own dream in here. There's a strong value of family connection and family support system. There is also a strong emphasis on education. Some immigrants come to Chicago to escape social and political turmoil in their land of birth. They bring with them a fear of police. It comes about from folks who come from countries that have been under some authoritarian rule in most cases where there was a fear of the police, a fear of the authorities in their countries. Khmer Rouge was a communist and around 2.3 million people were executed for being educated or living in a high class family, even if you wore glasses they killed you. They are so afraid that a lot of Asian people just do not want to talk to the police even if there's a problem they don't want to tell the police and they will just keep it to themselves. What citizens do not understand is that the police are not there to check immigration status and that the police are an institution and an organization that is there to actually help and enforce the law. We try to tell them it's not like Vietnam before. The police here is totally different. Compounding the fear is the fact that many immigrants speak little English and may have a difficult time understanding police orders or questions. Because of a language problem, some people are hesitant to reporting crime actually done right away because they have to deal with a lot of police officers and they don't know how to explain it. If you talk too loud they get scared. They'll be like, oh what did I do wrong? And they might not understand English all they know is just hard tone voice coming to them. Retaining voices also can instigate more fear and also our cussing. That's a no-no in our culture. Sometimes if you cuss before arresting a person you cuss him especially men they would retaliate. There's a chance that they would retaliate. Speaking in a calm tone and at a slow pace will help put people at ease. Myself too I complain about the police officers too is they speak too fast. You know they speak English but a very very quick you know right you know so even myself sometimes I cannot catch through the phone. So if they can lower the English you know. And police officers should not assume that all Asians are new immigrants. A lot of the Chinese Americans said you know they are Chinese but they've been like second or third generations here and so they feel like well because I look Chinese and you know they treat me differently but I speak fluently. People tend to view them as foreigners even those who have been here for generations and generations who are culturally American who probably don't speak you know their ancestral language but yet they are kind of regarded as being foreigners because they look Asian. Police investigating crimes involving Asian immigrants may find victims reluctant to give information or even press charges. I think in our community we've always been taught to be self-sufficient so problems stay within the household and problems stay within the family and so it's hard for them to ask for assistance and it's hard for them to want to go and especially seek help from the police. And especially if the problem is inter-family because you know among Asian people or probably other cultures the honor of the family is very important. There's a cultural issue that you know they think that things happen you know they you know just what especially for Chinese people they believe that if there's bad things happen bad things to stay within the family should not go out of the family. Asian families often live as extended families in a single home. The elderly are held in high regard and treated with respect while rude behavior by a police officer is never acceptable it will be viewed as extremely offensive if directed toward an elderly person. They're revered a lot higher in the family social circles and so you know if you're younger or if you're somebody who you know they perceive as being younger in a relationship they want you to give them that respect and expect that respect. Physical contact whether in greeting or in a show of friendliness may also be found offensive depending on the specific background of a person. For example caressing the head you know we shouldn't touch the head of anyone in the Vietnamese community you know only parents can touch the sons or the daughters head only even a friend equal you know we cannot do that. And the second thing is waving at someone summoning someone you know with the upward fingers like this you know in the American way you know it's very very I don't know the word you know I like insolent offending something like that and the best way is to do this way John can you come here can you join me you know it's more tolerable. It's all in the way that you would approach the different ages like if I were older I probably wouldn't like to be just approached that directly I wouldn't like to be spoken at loudly because I would probably be afraid and scared because I wouldn't understand the language. Me as a younger person I really just you know growing up more American just hey a handshake is fine. And in some Asian countries not keeping eye contact with a police officer is a sign of respect not a sign of guilt. And we don't look straight in the eyes like this you know it's very in the Vietnamese culture it's very offending. For example talk to a police officer we have to show the respect because he's the government he's authority you know. There may be an assumption that all Asians are Buddhists. That's not true. For example Chicago's Chinatown has a Buddhist temple, a Catholic church and a Protestant church all within a two block area. It's the same in other Asian communities. In Korea a lot of people is Buddhist you know there are a lot of Buddhists temple around in South Korea as well as Christianity. But in here the more people the people came here is more became as a Christianity here. Regardless of faith Asian homes and businesses often have small altars or shrines. Police should be respectful of these areas. When possible remove your shoes when entering a Buddhist temple. And if it is feasible to do so ask if you should remove your shoes inside an Asian home. When in doubt a polite inquiry on any issue will be appreciated. Again if there's no urgency to try to to ask I mean I think there's there's nothing you know better than when you get into a situation you're unaware of what the surroundings you know might tolerate or not and the best thing is simply to ask the question. Keep these things in mind when dealing with the members of the Asian community. Immigrants may have a fear of police because of past history in their homeland. Fear and cultural factors may prevent people from reporting crimes to police. Speaking calmly and slowly will ease tension and improve understanding. People from some Asian countries do not make eye contact with police as a sign of respect. Physical contact during a greeting or in the course of a discussion may be considered inappropriate especially in regards to children. All of the people we encounter on a daily basis expect to be treated with dignity and respect. It is our hope that this video will serve to enlighten and foster a new awareness and understanding. Thanks for watching and as always stay safe.