Who does LanguageLine serve in public safety?

LanguageLine serves police departments, 9-1-1 and emergency communications centers, fire and EMS, and other first responder agencies that need to communicate accurately with limited-English proficient, Deaf, and Hard-of-Hearing community members during emergencies.

How many languages are available for public safety interpreting?

Public safety agencies can connect to interpreters in more than 240 spoken languages by phone and 40+ languages by video, including American Sign Language (ASL) and British Sign Language (BSL).

Are interpreters trained specifically for 9-1-1 and emergency response?

Yes. LanguageLine interpreters who support public safety are specially trained in 9-1-1 and emergency response protocols so they can quickly gather critical information, follow dispatcher and officer instructions, and help keep callers and responders safe.

What interpreting options are available for public safety agencies?

Agencies can use on-demand phone interpreting, video remote interpreting, and onsite interpreters for interviews, community meetings, and incident response, as well as the LanguageLine App for instant mobile access in the field.

How quickly can 9-1-1 and field personnel connect to an interpreter?

Dispatchers and first responders can add a professional interpreter to a call or encounter within seconds, 24/7/365, helping avoid delays and misunderstandings in time-sensitive emergencies.

Does LanguageLine offer training and resources for public safety staff?

Yes. LanguageLine provides public safety–specific training resources, webinars, and guides, and can train and certify bilingual staff so they understand proper protocols for working with interpreters and serving diverse communities.

How does LanguageLine support community trust and compliance for public safety?

By providing reliable access to qualified interpreters in 240+ languages, LanguageLine helps agencies comply with language access requirements and build trust with multicultural communities, ensuring that language is never a barrier to safety or justice.

Public Safety Language Services | LanguageLine Solutions

Ensuring Clear Communication in Every Emergency

Police operate in environments where communication must be immediate, precise, and clearly understood. When language barriers are present, even routine interactions can become more complex. In emergencies, those challenges can delay response, hinder coordination, and increase risk. As communities become more linguistically diverse, agencies are under growing pressure to ensure that critical information reaches everyone, regardless of the language they speak.

To meet these demands, many public safety organisations are strengthening their approach to language access, implementing solutions that enable fast, accurate communication across languages without adding operational complexity. Whether supporting 999 dispatch, first responders, or public safety outreach, effective language access helps ensure that communication remains clear, consistent, and reliable in even the most time-sensitive situations.

With the right language access support, public safety organisations can:

Communicate critical information quickly and clearly during emergencies
Reduce delays and improve response times in high-pressure situations
Ensure accuracy and understanding across languages when it matters most
Strengthen coordination between dispatchers, responders, and communities
Scale communication effectively during disasters and large-scale events
Deliver consistent, equitable access to police services for all populations
Support compliance with language access requirements while maintaining efficiency

35,000+

Expert linguists on our worldwide team of professionals
240+

Languages supported by our professionally trained linguists
24/7

On-Demand audio and video interpretation services

Language Access Across Police and Criminal Justice Operations

Emergency & Disaster Response

Deliver multilingual communication during high-impact events such as natural disasters, public health emergencies, and crisis situations, ensuring communities receive timely alerts, evacuation instructions, and safety updates.

999 & First Responder Communication

Support real-time communication between dispatchers, emergency responders, and individuals with limited English proficiency, helping ensure critical information is understood during urgent situations.

Public Safety Alerts & Notifications

Translate and deliver emergency alerts, warnings, and public safety announcements so that all communities receive clear, actionable information when it matters most.

Law Enforcement & Field Operations

Enable communication during investigations, field interactions, and incident response, supporting clarity between officers and the communities they serve.

Community Outreach & Prevention

Engage diverse populations through multilingual safety campaigns, preparedness education, and prevention programs that help reduce risk before emergencies occur.

Public Health Emergency Communication

Provide multilingual updates, guidance, and safety protocols during public health events to ensure widespread understanding across communities.

Emergency Preparedness Materials

Translate preparedness guides, evacuation plans, and educational resources that help communities know how to respond before, during, and after emergencies.

Find the Right Language Access Solution for Your Police and Criminal Justice Needs

Police communication needs vary across emergency response, call handling, and community engagement. The options below help you quickly identify the right approach based on how language access is used in your organization.

Public Safety Need	How LanguageLine Supports It
Emergency calls requiring immediate interpretation	Access on-demand interpreters through DirectResponse® inbound call interpreting to support fast, real-time communication during 999 and other urgent interactions.
Delays connecting to interpreters in call workflows	Streamline communication with click-to-connect interpreter access using customer service interpreting solutions, reducing wait times in high-volume call environments.
High-volume communication during emergencies or peak events	Scale quickly with flexible interpretation and translation solutions designed to support surge demand across agencies and jurisdictions.
Rapid translation of alerts and public safety messaging	Translate emergency notifications and public communications using professional translation services to ensure communities receive clear, actionable information.
Fast communication for lower-risk or high-volume interactions	Use AI interpreting services to enable quick, real-time multilingual communication when speed is the priority.

Considering AI for Emergency Communication?

AI can help improve speed and handle high call volumes—but in critical situations like 999 calls, human interpreters remain essential for accuracy, context, and clarity.

Read why human interpreters still matter in emergency dispatch®

Resource

New to Language Access Planning?

Building an effective language access strategy involves more than just translation or interpretation. Learn how organisations approach compliance, quality, and scalability across multilingual communication.

How Police and Criminal Justice Agencies Improve Language Access

Making 999 Accessible Across Languages

How a Georgia county in the United States expanded language access to better serve diverse communities and improve communication during emergency calls.

Learn More

Scaling Language Access Across Emergency Services

How South Carolina (U.S.) improved communication across statewide 911 operations, supporting consistent access across regions.

Learn More

On-Demand Interpreting in Emergency Response

How Toronto, Canada 911 uses on-demand interpreting to support real-time multilingual communication during critical incidents.

Learn More

Improve Emergency Call Handling

Managing communication while connecting to an interpreter can impact response time and caller experience. Access practical guidance and a short training overview designed to support more efficient call handling in multilingual environments.

Download the “Please Hold” Training Guide→
Watch the LanguageLine Solutions Training for Public Safety→

A serious-looking dispatcher takes notes on her computer during a call assisted by an interpreter.

Police and Criminal Justice FAQs

What is language access in police and criminal justice?

Language access ensures that individuals with limited English proficiency can communicate effectively with police and criminal justice agencies, including during emergency response, 999 calls, and community outreach.

How do 999 centres handle non-English calls?

Many 999 centers use on-demand interpretation services to connect callers with professional interpreters in real time, helping ensure critical information is understood quickly and accurately.

What’s the difference between interpretation and translation in police and criminal justice applications?

Interpretation supports real-time spoken communication, such as 999 calls or field interactions. Translation is used for written materials like emergency alerts, safety notices, and public information.

How can police and criminal justice agencies reduce delays when connecting to an interpreter?

Agencies can streamline workflows with solutions like direct inbound call interpreting and click-to-connect access, helping reduce wait times and improve communication during high-volume situations.

Ensure Every Community Can Be Understood

Support clear, accurate communication across languages with solutions designed for the demands of police and criminal justice—helping your teams respond quickly, communicate clearly, and serve every community effectively.

From Our Blog

Top Multicultural City Calls LanguageLine in an Emergency

Toronto is known worldwide as an international city. Its residents speak more than 200 languages, which puts pressure on Toronto 9-1-1 to provide equal language access to all. Find out why Toronto 9-1-1 partnered with LanguageLine to get language assistance in more than 240 languages. Today, staff can add an interpreter to a 9-1-1 call within seconds.

As Diversity Grows, Minnesota 9-1-1 Uses On-Demand Interpreting

Every year in Minnesota, thousands of 9-1-1 calls need translation. Callers typically need assistance in more than 50 languages, including Spanish, Somali, Karen, Hmong, Portuguese, Swahili, and Tagalog. That’s why Minnesota 9-1-1 relies on LanguageLine for language assistance to make communities safer for Minnesota residents.

Atlantic City Police Overcome Cultural Barriers With Residents

Across the Atlantic City Police Department, officers speak 22 languages. Even so, they can’t keep up with the city’s growing diversity. Seeking to better serve residents who speak Urdu, Vietnamese, Creole, Portuguese, Bengali, Arabic, Albanian, and a host of other languages, the Department partnered with LanguageLine.

Police Language Services

When Every Second Counts, Language Barriers Can’t Get in the Way

Ensuring Clear Communication in Every Emergency

35,000+

240+

24/7

Language Access Across Police and Criminal Justice Operations

Emergency & Disaster Response

999 & First Responder Communication

Public Safety Alerts & Notifications

Law Enforcement & Field Operations

Community Outreach & Prevention

Public Health Emergency Communication

Emergency Preparedness Materials

Find the Right Language Access Solution for Your Police and Criminal Justice Needs

Resource

New to Language Access Planning?

How Police and Criminal Justice Agencies Improve Language Access

Improve Emergency Call Handling

Police and Criminal Justice FAQs

What is language access in police and criminal justice?

How do 999 centres handle non-English calls?

What’s the difference between interpretation and translation in police and criminal justice applications?

How can police and criminal justice agencies reduce delays when connecting to an interpreter?

Ensure Every Community Can Be Understood

Related Product Solutions

From Our Blog

Top Multicultural City Calls LanguageLine in an Emergency

As Diversity Grows, Minnesota 9-1-1 Uses On-Demand Interpreting

Atlantic City Police Overcome Cultural Barriers With Residents