Increase in local interpreters will lead to £300,000 in savings

A drive to get more interpreters to register across Yorkshire will lead to expected year on year savings of £300,000. Police Forces in West Yorkshire, North Yorkshire and Humberside have been working on the joint project to encourage more people to sign up as interpreters. Other agencies, including Health, Education, Refugee and Asylum as well as those in the voluntary sector will benefit from the increase in interpreters. A major part of the funding for the project came from the Migration Impact Fund managed by Bradford Council's Stronger Communities Partnership Service.

Since the project was announced in January this year, over 1000 people from key migrant and minority ethnic communities have applied to become interpreters for the police and other public agencies such as the Local Authority. This increase in local interpreters will mean Police Forces will significantly reduce mileage and travel claims from interpreters travelling from across the UK and will mean Police Officers in the three Forces will spend less time waiting for them to arrive. This will equate to around 1000 hours of extra policing on our streets as Officers will be free to go back out on the beat more quickly after an arrest.

This week the interpreters attended a special ceremony to be presented with certificates to thank them for their commitment to the project and enthusiasm.

The Police will have access to over sixty new interpreters covering 32 languages including some of the most under-represented European, African and Asian languages whilst partner agencies such as children's centres, NHS, Councils, women's centres, homeless centres and refugee and asylum centres will have access to over 100 interpreters - speaking 43 languages.

West Yorkshire Police's Emily Wilson, who has coordinated the project on behalf of the Region, said: "We have received a fantastic response and I'd just like to thank all the people who have applied to become interpreters.

Last year, West Yorkshire, North Yorkshire and Humberside Police as well as partners in the Public Sector, were given funding from the migrant impact fund to train local people to be interpreters, in a bid to ensure that migrant and minority ethnic communities receive the best possible service."

Emily added: "The interpreters will not only play a vital role in helping the police to tackle crimes. We will be encouraging them to forge links with their community and community service providers so that they increase their accessibility to some of the most vulnerable members of our society.

The benefits of having these interpreters on our doorstep will be substantial - £300,000 year on year savings and 1,000 hours of Police time freed up."