Local translators to save forces £300,000 a year across region

A RECRUITMENT drive by Yorkshire police forces to sign up more interpreters is due to make annual savings in excess of £300,000 while freeing up officers for time on the beat.

A joint project launched by the three forces covering West and North Yorkshire as well as Humberside is due to see up to 70 interpreters speaking 32 languages from across the region enrolled on a national database to provide specialist skills in criminal cases.

Their expertise in often rare languages, including the African dialects of Wolof and Mandinka, will be employed in courtrooms and police interviews.

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The project means that the need to call on the services of interpreters from as far away as London and Birmingham will dramatically fall, bringing about the six-figure annual savings.

The fact that dozens of new recruits are available in the region will also lead to faster justice. The recruitment drive is expected to save up to 1,000 hours of officers' time in West Yorkshire alone.

West Yorkshire Police's project officer Emily Wilson, who has co-ordinated the regional initiative, said: "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."

The 250,000 project was financed by the Migration Impact Fund, which used money from visa applications.