Does this mean we will be seeing a new television series this fall: Law and order--Multilingual? The need that is being met in Fairfax is probably not all that unique in the U.S., however, the solution to the problem seems to be.

Perez studied the population and languages of Fairfax and determined that the greatest need was for Spanish, followed by Korean. Seven of the 10 members of the new unit are fluent in Spanish, two speak Korean and one speaks Vietnamese.

Recently released county statistics show that the need for other languages will grow. In 2004, more than 300,000 Fairfax residents -- close to a third of the population -- spoke a language other than English at home, and more than 80,000 lived in a home considered "linguistically isolated" -- no one 14 or older spoke English well.

Tags: multilingual | police | languages