A police force says it is spending more than £1 million a year on interpreters as officers try to meet the demands posed by an influx of migrant workers following the broadening of the European Union.
The Thames Valley Police Authority said the money it spent on interpreters had risen by more than £920,000 in the past decade.
Officials said Home Office funding for police was “not keeping pace with the increasing demands of ever more diverse populations”.
Earlier this week Julie Spence, Chief Constable of Cambridgeshire, said nearly 100 languages were spoken in her county now and more officers were needed to enable the force to cope.
Thames Valley Police, which has responsibility for policing towns near Heathrow Airport, said it was “regrettable” that the Home Office had not increased funding.
“Across the force, we now face costs of interpretation of more than £1 million per year. Ten years ago this cost was less than £80,000,”… Read the full story