Frequently Asked Questions - At The Police Station

Can the Interpreter From the Police Station Also Interpret in Court?

The answer to this is no, other than in very exceptional circumstances where arrangements have been agreed by the court. The reason being that the police interview may be used as evidence in court and if there were any issues with the quality of the interpretation during the interview, it would be inappropriate for the same interpreter to be acting in court.

Why Should Police Interviews be Video-Taped?

The PACE Code F paragraph 3.1 (d) suggests it would be appropriate for interactions “with, or in the presence of, a deaf or deaf/blind or speech impaired person who uses sign language to communicate” to be visually recorded.

This is because an audio recording of a police interview is not evidence of what the Deaf person said as it only records the interpretation of what has been said. If there were any issues with the interpreter or interpretation you cannot be confident that the recording is an accurate representation of what was actually said in the interview.

The video taped recording of the interview should capture both the interpreter and the deaf person on camera capturing the signed utterances of both parties. This video recording can then later be used as evidence of what was said and can also be reviewed if there are any concerns regarding the quality of interpretation.