On 28th April, DA Languages attended the first ever National Police Language Services conference and awards ceremony.
The National Police Interpreter of the Year Awards aims to recognise those who have been doing exceptional work within police interpreting, helping the force to serve non-English-speaking members of the public nationwide.
The awards were established by Leicestershire Police’s Head of Procurement Ian Fraser and Mark Lewis, the National Police Contract Manager for language services. Together, they were instrumental in creating the Police Approved Interpreter and Translator (PAIT) scheme and the National Dynamic Purchasing Solution (DPS) for language services.
To acknowledge the vital role interpreters and translators play in policing, Ian and Mark then decided to hold a conference dedicated to the skills and talent of public service linguists. And so began the National Police Interpreter of the Year Awards.
National Police Interpreter of the Year Awards 2023
Awards on the night included Spoken Interpreter of the Year, Non-Spoken Interpreter of the Year and the Simon Cole Award for Excellence in Police Interpreting.
DA Languages is proud to be the language service provider of numerous police forces across the UK and so we were so pleased to be invited to take part in the evening.
Representing DA Languages at the awards was Paul Hawkaluk. Paul is a former police officer and now works at DA Languages as the Client Relationship Manager for National Police Language Services.
At the ceremony, Paul gave an informative training presentation that counted towards the delegates’ continual professional development.
The conference was opened by Baroness Coussins and co-chairs All-Party Parliamentary Group on Modern Languages.
Baroness Coussins said: “The strategic importance of linguists goes largely unnoticed and unsung, especially in the field of law enforcement and the administration of justice, despite being so vital. Vital to the quality of public services, to the quality of justice and to human rights.
“The police have gone the extra mile in creating a level of engagement that is unprecedented in the UK languages services sector.”
DA Languages was happy to see one of our very own BSL interpreters be celebrated. Alison Gilchrist, winner of the Non-Spoken Interpreter of the Year award, has been providing British Sign Language interpreting support for police forces across the South West and Midlands for ten years. Throughout this time, she has greatly helped the police communicate with both victims and suspects.
Thank you to National Police Language Services for organising such a fantastic event and congratulations to everyone involved!
Award winners
Spoken Interpreter of the Year
Samira Hajmi
For work with the Metropolitan Police Service
Spoken Interpreter of the Year (Runner Up)
Shefki Bytiqi
For work with the Metropolitan Police Service
Spoken Interpreter of the Year (Judges’ Commendation)
Ahmad Najim
Nominated by Language Line
Non-Spoken Interpreter of the Year
Alison Gilchrist
Nominated by DA Languages for work with forces across the South West and Midlands
Non-Spoken Interpreter of the Year (Runner Up)
Lesley Weatherson
For work with Hampshire and Thames Valley Police
Simon Cole Award for Excellence in Police Interpreting
Karina Stefanescue
For work with the Metropolitan Police Service
Simon Cole Award for Excellence in Police Interpreting (Runner Up)
Monica Iftime
For work with Leicestershire Police
