Police station and PACE interviews

The consultation matters as much as the interview

The most consequential interpreting in a police station often happens before recording begins, when a solicitor explains what a no-comment interview is, what an adverse inference means, and why silence is not an admission.

There is no clean Arabic equivalent for 'adverse inference', and no everyday register in which the caution lands as anything other than a threat. I have watched clients hear it as a warning that silence will be punished. If the client misunderstands the advice, the advice was not given — so brief your interpreter on the consultation, not only on the interview.

Professional boundaries

I do not hold unrecorded private conversations with a client, however kindly meant. An unrecorded exchange creates a gap in the record with the interpreter's name on it, and if the evidence is later challenged that gap becomes the issue.

What I will do is interpret while you have that conversation — same reassurance, same two minutes, and it happened in front of you.

Clearance and availability

CTC clearance to September 2030 and Enhanced DBS. My Ofqual-regulated Level 6 (Legal Pathway) qualification is approved for the UK Police PAIT scheme and is the DPSI (Law) equivalent for PACE Code C work.

Same-day and out-of-hours attendance for custody suites can often be accommodated — telephone or WhatsApp is faster than email for these.

Dialect coverage

• Yemeni Arabic — specialist
• Gulf Arabic
• Sudanese Arabic — rare
• All seven varieties in active practice