Operational partnerships - Interpreters SOP (Q01r)

 

1. Summary of Changes

1.1 The following amendments have been made to this Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) on 31 January 2023 – the interpreter service provider has been updated.

2. What this Procedure is About

2.1. This SOP provides guidance on the management and use of interpreters.
Compliance with this SOP and any governing policy is mandatory.

3. Detail the Procedure

3.1. Who - All interpreting services (including Sign Language) are provided by LanguageLine UK. LanguageLine UK will be responsible for the following services:

• Telephone Interpreting
• Face to Face Interpreting
• Document Translation.

3.2. Use - The primary responsibility of the police will be limited to making arrangements with interpreters to attend for:

• Any part of a criminal investigation (Suspect, Victim or Witness);
• For the interpreting requirements of any person in custody;
• To organise attendance at court for a defendant if the first appearance is within two working days of charge, and by local arrangement, to organise an interpreter on behalf of the prosecuting authority.

3.3. Governance - Only interpreters which have been requested through LanguageLine UK may be used for any Kent Police interpreting. The only exception is for Sign Language, where it has not been possible to obtain the serves of a Sign Language interpreter from LanguageLine UK - See 3.4.1.

3.3.1 Any person interested in becoming a Registered Interpreter should apply via LanguageLine UK directly and not through Kent Police.

3.32.2. Under no circumstances should any persons employed by Kent Police or any other Police service be used as an interpreter for a person detained for a criminal offence.

3.4. Access - Booking of interpreters should only be achieved by contacting LanguageLine UK – details can be found on the Interpreter Services section of the Kent Police internal website. 

3.4.1. Sign Language interpreters will only be booked by Kent Deaf Interpreting Service (KDIS) using contact details on the Kent Police internal website – Interpreters for the Deaf if one cannot be provided by LanguageLine UK.

3.5 Interviews – The officer in the case (OIC) will brief the interpreter on what is required and their role throughout the process.

3.5.1. When considering remote interpreting, PACE Code C, Annex N must be adhered to.

3.6 Responsibility to book an interpreter for court – Police will be responsible for organising interpreters for the following:

• When the defendant has been charged, summonsed or remanded to court and the first hearing is within two working days.
• When defendant is attending court on a No Bail warrant and appearance is within 48 hours.
• When the interpreter is a prosecution witness.
• On behalf of a prosecution witness.

3.6.1 In all other cases the responsibility will rest with the Magistrate's Court. The police should provide the court with all relevant information relating to the defendant within 3 working days after charge/summons or in any event at least 2 working days prior to the hearing. Detail required will include:

• Language and dialect.
• Names of interpreters used so far by the police and the defence solicitor (where known).
• Any other relevant information such as likely difficulties to be encountered by using interpreters from a particular ethnic group, or political orientation or affiliation.

3.7 Telephone Interpreters - Telephone interpreting is already widely used within Kent Police, however, officers should ensure that it is only used for brief and straightforward communications such as:

• Booking people into custody.
• Handling front desk enquiries.
• Arranging appointments.
• Obtaining initial details /first account/ descriptions from an incident.
• Conversations with foreign nationals in a public place.

3.7.1 It is not appropriate to use a telephone interpreter for use in evidential procedures. The only exception to this is the use of a telephone interpreter during an Intoximeter procedure.

3.8 Defence Interpreters – Where a defence solicitor requires an interpreter to facilitate the provision of legal advice between solicitor and client, a different interpreter, where practicable should be used. Where not practicable, the client may consent to use of a police interpreter. If the defence wish to use own their own interpreter they are responsible for arranging them and covering their cost, with police help if requested. They may choose an alternative police interpreter – this must be documented on the custody record and the defence solicitor should be invited to endorse the entry. The OIC is to ensure clarity with a defence solicitor and interpreter prior to agreement to act for the defence.

3.9 Costs and administration – LanguageLine UK is a contracted service and all costs will be managed via the 7 Force Procurement Team.

3.10 Transcripts – Interpreters are now required to translate all essential documents. (PACE Code C para 13.1A.) These documents include:
a) The grounds for keeping the suspect in custody before and after charge given by the custody officer and the review officer.
b) A superintendent’s authorisation extending pre-charge detention.
c) A warrant of further detention and any extension issued by a magistrates’ court.
d) Authority to detain in a warrant for arrest issued in connection with criminal proceedings.
e) The written notice showing particulars of the offence charged.
f) Written interview records and any written statement under caution.

3.10.1. There are two stated exceptions:
The custody officer can authorise oral translation or an oral summary of documents (a) to (e) in the list – not (f) interview records - if satisfied that it would not prejudice the fairness of the proceedings by adversely affecting the suspect’s ability to understand their position or communicate effectively.

3.10.2. Alternatively, the suspect can waive their right to written translation of essential documents but only after receiving legal advice “or having full knowledge of the consequences” and giving “unconditional and fully informed consent” in writing (PACE Code C Annex M, para.4). The suspect can be asked if they wish to waive the right to a written translation but must be reminded of the right to legal advice. Nothing must be done or said to encourage such waiver.

3.11 Conflicts of interest – The interpreter must declare any conflicts of interest to the OIC who will decide whether such conflict has the potential to jeopardise the case. OICs must document on the custody record any decisions made with the appropriate rationale.

4. Equality Impact Assessment

4.1. An Equality Impact Assessment has been carried out on this SOP and as a result of this assessment the SOP has been given a medium potential impact.

5. Risk Assessment

5.1. This SOP has been assessed as medium risk.

6. Consultation

• Custody
• Reactive / Proactive Investigation
• Response Teams
• Neighbourhood
• Human Resources
• Finance
• Estates
• IT Security
• Health and Safety
• Equality and Diversity
• Legal
• Freedom of Information
• Police Federation
• Unison

7. Monitoring and Review

7.1. This guidance will be subject of constant review in line with any legislation changes. The SOP will be reviewed every two years with the next review taking place in January 2025.

8. Other Source Documents

• None

9. Security

9.1. Kent Police have measures in place to protect the security of your data in accordance with our Information Management Policy (Policy W1000 – Information Management).

10. Retention and Disposal of Records

10.1. Kent Police will hold data in accordance with our Records Review, Retention and Disposal Policy (Policy W1012 – Records Review, Retention and Disposal).