Tip site allows Somalis to report crime online

U.S. law enforcement agencies, community leaders and an anti-crime group announced a new Web site Wednesday that allows Somali immigrants to report crimes in their native language.

The project's goal is to help Somalis overcome a suspicion of police borne of corruption in their homeland and to crack down on illegal activity from street crime to terrorist recruiting. The site was announced in Columbus, the city with the nation's second-largest Somali population, but will accept tips from anywhere in the U.S.

Somali concerns about crime have grown in Columbus recently and reached new levels following the unrelated slayings of two Somali immigrants in the last year.

Somalis are also worried about the recruiting of young men by overseas terrorists. More than a dozen people have been charged in an ongoing federal investigation in Minnesota into the travels of as many as 20 young men who went to Somalia to fight.

Many Somalis came to the United States after years in refugee camps where they were harassed by corrupt police officers, making them suspicious of any law enforcement, said Jibril Hirsi, executive director of the Somali Community Access Network in Columbus.

Language barriers and cultural misunderstandings are also problems. Hirsi gave the example of a Columbus woman cited by police after she mistakenly called 911 to report that her water pipes were broken.

"It takes time to really make people comfortable with the work of the law enforcement, make them work with police and see police as very helpful," Hirsi said Wednesday. "This is one system that makes it possible for people to report crimes."

Somalis accessing the new Web site can enter crime tips anonymously. Central Ohio Crime Stoppers will translate the tips and send them to police.

Somali groups also are working with the U.S. Marshals Service to distribute information in Somali about wanted fugitives. The FBI is also cooperating.

"We're concerned about any kind of crime that happens," said FBI Special Agent Harry Trombitas. "We work a lot more things than just terrorism, though that's certainly our No. 1 priority."

The effort is one that several Somali groups are involved in that aim to ease Somali integration into American society.

In Columbus, a charter school serving Somali children is using a $850,000 federal grant to help students connect with U.S. culture, including field trips to the Ohio Historical Society where they learn about Ohio history, flora and fauna.

Middle schools in Minneapolis and Seattle, other U.S. cities with large Somali populations, also offer programs aimed at bridging the cultural gap for Somali children caught between their old and new lives.

Many Somali mothers are concerned about their children becoming involved in gangs or other crime as well as being recruited by terrorists, said Khadra Mohamed, a Columbus social worker from Somalia.

"So far nothing has happened in Columbus, but we all need to be aware and come up with ways to prevent that kind of recruiting," she said.

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On the Net:

http://www.somalitips.com