Boating safety impact on the Latino community

The State of Maryland already has as many boating deaths this year as it did in all of last year.

But, what's also causing concern is that more than half of those who have died in boating accidents this year have been Latino, according to the Maryland Natural Resources Police.

"In all of last year we had nine fatalities," said the Maryland Natural Resources Police Spokesperson, Candy Thomson.

"We are at nine fatalities right now before really the start of summer and of those nine fatalities six were Hispanics, which started to raise a real concern for us," said Thomson.

According to Thomson, none of the Latinos who died were wearing life jackets.

She said part of the problem may be that their safety tips might get lost in translation. But, now police are launching a community outreach campaign to help.

"Part of our challenge is to reach out to the Hispanic Community because we know there's a language barrier between our safety message and what we want folks to know," Thomson said.

And the Maryland Natural Resources Police have already started. 

New programs like Es Mi Parque – meaning It's My Park – focus on teaching Hispanic families boater safety tips like wearing life jackets and making sure boating operators are certified.

"We're looking at all the different kinds of ways," she said.

"We know we have to get out of our comfort zone, and Es Mi Parque and this boating initiative will help make us more part of the Hispanic community."

However, the Director of the Chesapeake Multicultural Resource Center said it is not a language issue, but a cultural one.

He said learning how to swim is a luxury in the Latino community.

"There's a large gap between how do we treat swimming as a necessity and learning how to do it, rather than kind of a luxury given those who can afford swimming lessons or get into pools," said the Director of the Chesapeake Multicultural Resource Center, Matthew Peters.

Peters said that in addition part of the solution may be in teaching more Latinos to swim, as well as increasing boater safety knowledge.

Maryland Natural Resources Police also said that they are looking to add more Spanish-speaking officers. As of now, they only have one stationed in Baltimore.