Saratoga is home to a significant number of spanish-speaking people, especially during the busy racing season. Not having a Spanish speaking officer or translator can hinder police work. Police Chief Chris Cole has purchased Rosetta Stone discs to be used by all of his officers and dispatchers. Cole says the Rosetta Stone is a computer-based audio and video program that department members can train with during their shifts.

Immigrants and Latinos constitute only small fractions of the Saratoga County population. David Dyssegaard-Kallick is the director of the immigration research initiative at New York's Fiscal Policy Institute. A 2008 study by FPI dispels public perception that most of the Latinos in Saratoga hail from Mexico. The majority are "U.S. born" from Puerto Rico.

Critics of Saratoga's Rosetta Stone incentive give it little chance for success, arguing that given the number of dialects of Spanish-speakers from different countries and "street Spanish" - Cole disagrees. The Pittsfield, Massachusetts police department has gone through several trainings for Spanish speaking and the city has rolled out incentives in the form of pay raises for officers who learn the language. The program has been a success. Back in Saratoga, Chief Cole points out there has also been discussion about recruiting English-Spanish bi-lingual officers when future openings pop up in the police dept.