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Interpreting in Legal and Healthcare Settings: Perspectives on research and training
Edited by Eva N.S. Ng and Ineke H.M. Crezee
[Benjamins Translation Library 151] 2020
► pp. 189–208

Chapter 8
Teaching police to work effectively with interpreters

Design and delivery of a training course

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The right of individuals to understand and be understood in judicial procedures is enshrined in several international and national legislative instruments. This right is often exercised through the intervention of translators and interpreters whenever individuals do not speak or understand the language of the country in which they are a party in a judicial procedure. In order to make such a right effective, legislation has moved a step forward in recent years and established the need to guarantee quality translation/interpreting. One mechanism provided to ensure quality is training of police and judicial staff to effectively work with interpreters. This chapter describes a 20-hour training course taught to a mixed group of Spanish police officers.

Keywords: community interpreting, Directive 2010/64/EU, Directive 2012/29/EU, interpreter-mediated communication, police interpreting, police training, victim’s and suspect’s rights, quality translation, quality interpreting, procedural rights
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
    • 1.1The right to quality translation and interpreting according to legislation
    • 1.2The need for inter-professional collaboration in order to achieve quality interpretation
  • 2.Teaching police to work effectively with interpreters
    • 2.1Approaching the police
    • 2.2Course design and methodology
      • 2.2.1Module 1: Legislation and provision of translation and interpreting services
      • 2.2.2Module 2: Language and culture
      • 2.2.3Module 3: Translation and interpreting as a profession
      • 2.2.4Module 4: Working with interpreters
      • 2.2.5Module 5: Resources, projects, associations and useful information
    • 2.3Course evaluation
  • 3.Conclusions
  • Notes
  • References
Published online: 3 June 2020
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/btl.151.08del
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