Canarian Weekly
03-08-2012, 12:10
SINCE the beginning of this year, Police stations at the main tourist resorts here in Tenerife, such as Playa de Las Americas and Puerto de la Cruz, have been without interpreters to translate the complaints and statements of witnesses or defendants, said theTenerifeprovincial executive committee of the Spanish Confederation of Police (CEP). The reason for this situation lies in the Interior Ministry’s decision to eliminate the interpreter service just before the summer and “trust in police language training,” said the CEP.
A circular from the Home Office, sent last May said, “Interpreters can no longer be used and therefore each station must cope by using their own officers with language skills”.
The Ministry explained further, “Due to current budgetary constraints and in order to rationalise spending, police stations are instructed, until they receive further notice, to refrain from using the services of interpreters that have, until now, been commonly used for assistance to detainees, offices and Citizen Complaints.”
The National Police station in Playa de Las Americas had two interpreters, who worked in English, French and German, while in Puerto de la Cruz they had a translator for English and German. Currently, there are no interpreters at these two stations.
The measure to remove the interpreters has not only affected the police, but, as far as tourism is concerned, airports have also had the service removed.
At Tenerife Sur airport, the National Police lost their translator back in March of this year. Currently, the only National Police station which has an interpreter is in the capital,Santa Cruz de Tenerife.
It appears that it has only just been made public, in addition you can no longer telephone and make a denuncia in your own language you have to go to the police station; it seems at one of the busiest times of the year essential services have once again been withdrawn.
More... (http://www.canarianweekly.com/police-work-interpreters/)
A circular from the Home Office, sent last May said, “Interpreters can no longer be used and therefore each station must cope by using their own officers with language skills”.
The Ministry explained further, “Due to current budgetary constraints and in order to rationalise spending, police stations are instructed, until they receive further notice, to refrain from using the services of interpreters that have, until now, been commonly used for assistance to detainees, offices and Citizen Complaints.”
The National Police station in Playa de Las Americas had two interpreters, who worked in English, French and German, while in Puerto de la Cruz they had a translator for English and German. Currently, there are no interpreters at these two stations.
The measure to remove the interpreters has not only affected the police, but, as far as tourism is concerned, airports have also had the service removed.
At Tenerife Sur airport, the National Police lost their translator back in March of this year. Currently, the only National Police station which has an interpreter is in the capital,Santa Cruz de Tenerife.
It appears that it has only just been made public, in addition you can no longer telephone and make a denuncia in your own language you have to go to the police station; it seems at one of the busiest times of the year essential services have once again been withdrawn.
More... (http://www.canarianweekly.com/police-work-interpreters/)