Force spending £1m on interpreters

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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," said Thames Valley Police Authority chairman Christine Weston.

"As a police authority and a force we are coping with this issue but it is regrettable that the Home Office has not altered our budget to take this new financial pressure into account.

"I support comments which suggest funding for shire forces does not keep pace with the increasing demands of ever more diverse populations."

Chief Constable Sara Thornton added: "The force ...is working hard to adapt where necessary; in Slough, for example, a number of officers have been learning Polish to communicate with the rising Polish population."

She said interpretation costs were "not an optional extra but an integral part of policing".