INDIANAPOLIS -- The new head of public safety said Tuesday he is committed to improving the language barrier between Indianapolis police and the city's Spanish-speaking community.

Of the more than 1,700 officers in the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department, only 15 are fluent in Spanish, 6News' Jack Rinehart reported.

The department offers Spanish lessons to officers, but most classes only provide basic language skills to help in making traffic stops, writing tickets or filling out accident reports.

Sgt. Matt Mount, a public information officer who speaks fluent Spanish, said the lack of effective communications can prove dangerous for officers and for the public.

"Officers don't know if they were dealing with someone who is wanted for a crime or is a fleeing felon because you can't get that information," Mount said.

Twelve-year IMPD veteran Nick Serban, another of the department's fluent officers, learned Spanish while serving in the U.S. Navy and now works on the city's west side in an area known as Little Mexico.

He said that because of the language barrier, a lot of crime goes unreported.

"One, they're afraid that if they call us, they can't communicate with us, and two, they're afraid if they call us, it will affect their residency here," Serban said.

Ivan Lemus, who runs an insurance agency in the area near West Washington Street and North Belmont Avenue, said the lack of communications hurts relations between police and the community.

"I think the police are doing the best they can," he said. "But things can always get better."

The language barrier is also present within the Marion County Sheriff Department's 911 center, where only two operators are fluent in Spanish.

"About the only thing I can say really well is, 'Do you need the police? Yes or no? Do you need the policia? Si or no?'" said operator Valerie Reckert-Jacobsen.

Of the more than 90,000 calls received last month, 306 had to be transferred to interpreters, including 299 Spanish-speaking callers. The other callers spoke French, Burmese, Mandarin and Arabic.