Southend Airport drugs mule sentencing delayed

http://www.echo-news.co.uk/news/11573459.Southend_Airport_drugs_mule_sentencing_delayed/ 
3 November 2014

Southend Airport drugs mule sentencing delayed

THE sentencing of a drugs mule who tried to smuggle cannabis through Southend Airport has been postponed for the second time in a week due to bungling translators and prison officers.

Spaniard Juan Puebla, 51, who is currently in custody, admitted smuggling 1.153kg of cannabis resin. He came over to Britain with the class B drug on an easyJet flight from Malaga to Southend Airport on August 28.

He was due to be sentenced at Basildon Crown Court on Monday, but Chelmsford Prison did not bring him to court, nor did a Spanish interpreter turn up, in what Judge David Owen- Jones described as a “disgrace”.

The sentence was adjourned until yesterday, but it was botched again after the same errors.

Explaining the farce, Puebla’s solicitor, Christopher Whitcombe, said Chelmsford Prison could not find him on their system as he has doublebarrelled first and surnames, going by the name of Juan- Carlos Puebla-Rejon.

Meanwhile, a translator failed to turn up again, despite the court making contact with Capita, which was supposed to be providing one.

Judge David Owen-Jones, said: “It is common that Spanish have double-barrelled names. There are enough Spaniards in Chelmsford Prison for them to be aware the first surname is the one alphabetically listed.

“And why is the interpreter not here? It is Capita’s fault as the court made contact and nobody turned up, which is a disgrace. We need an explanation from Capita, otherwise this will continue time and again – cases will be adjourned and these people are in custody and they should not be held up by a lack of personnel.”

The drugs were worth £2,900. The court heard he has a previous conviction for low level drug trafficking in Spain in 2012.

The sentencing has been relisted for Thursday at Basildon Crown Court.

Revealed: Police spend £2m on interpreters to break language barrier

http://www.shropshirestar.com/news/local-news/2014/11/01/revealed-police-spend-2m-on-interpreters-to-break-language-barrier/ 
1 November 2014

Revealed: Police spend £2m on interpreters to break language barrier

Police across Shropshire and Mid Wales have spent more than £2.5 million on foreign language interpreters over the past five years, according to new figures.

The money has been spent helping prisoners in custody and providing support for victims, and translations have been made for people speaking Polish, Romanian and Dutch.

But the amount spent by West Mercia Police, which covers Shropshire, has been declining year on year. Officials have put the shrinking figures down to a "downward trend" of overall crime.

The figures for West Mercia Police and Dyfed-Powys Police have been revealed through a Freedom in information request, which revealed the two forces had racked up a combined total of £2,557,475.58. West Mercia Police spent £2,037,726.56 since 2008, while officers in Powys spent £519,749.02.

Money spent in West Mercia has been declining since 2008/9, when £527,061.62 was spent. The highest spend for Dyfed-Powys was in 2009/10 at £136,749.34, while costs rose again in 2013/14 to £100,855.19.

Since April 2014, the top six language translation that West Mercia Police has paid for are Polish, Romanian, Lithuanian, Sylheti, Russian and Dutch.

Chloe Drinkwater, spokeswoman for West Mercia Police, said: "Crime is on a downward trend and over the past few years, the number of people arrested has continued to fall. A combination of falling crime and changes to arrest procedures attributes to the decline in amount spent on translation services.

"The promoted use of voluntary interviews has also impacted on arrest numbers which have continued to fall, while there has been a significant up surge in the amount of interviews carried out voluntarily. This downward trend on arrest numbers, and the falling crime rate is reflected in the reducing cost of translation services.

"If an officer finds that they are unable to communicate effectively with a person whether they be a witness, under arrest or having attended voluntarily then they will call on the services of a translator.

"This can either be over the telephone using the services of 'Languageline', or in person using the services of 'NRPSI'."

In 2011, the Ministry of Justice outsourced interpretation work to private firm Applied Language Solutions (ALS) in a bid to save £18 million a year.

ALS was sold to Capita, an outsourcing and recruitment company, before the contract began, and is now run as Capita Translation and Interpreting.

West Mercia Police has uses the services of Languageline or NRPSI.

But those behind The Professional Interpreters for Justice campaign are calling for change.

One of the campaign’s three aims is to bring back the direct employment of freelance interpreters by the courts and police services.

The Race Relations Act states all parts of the community should have access to services. The Human Rights Act only requires translation if someone is arrested or charged with a criminal offence.

PQ - 28 October 2014

http://www.theyworkforyou.com/wrans/?id=2014-10-23.211808.h

28 October 2014

G4S

Home Office

Ian Swales (Redcar, Liberal Democrat)

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether G4S records (a) telephone calls made to it by asylum seekers who have ended the call as they have not been able to explain that they need an interpreter and (b) all other telephone calls received in connection with its contract to deliver accommodation for asylum seekers.

James Brokenshire (Minister of State (Home Office) (Security and Immigration); Old Bexley and Sidcup, Conservative)

All providers are required under the COMPASS contracts to provide a minimum level of support to asylum seekers accommodated in their properties, this includes briefing the service user in a language that they understand, on how to contact the provider and the Home Office to make complaints.

G4S does make a record of all telephone calls they receive from asylum applicants accommodated in their property and refers service users to their interpreters where it is clear that an interpreter is required.

Scotland: Court interpreters in demand in far north

http://www.johnogroat-journal.co.uk/News/Court-interpreters-in-demand-in-far-north-24102014.htm 
27/10/2014

Court interpreters in demand in far north

Wick Sheriff Court has required the use of foreign speaking interpreters seven times to carry out criminal cases during this year.

A freedom of information request from the Scottish Court Service has revealed between January and August 2014, Wick Sheriff Court has required Polish and Mandarin translators on seven occasions to carry out criminal cases.

Cases have included two assaults, two assaults to injury and two drug offences along with an offence of the Criminal Justice & Licensing Act.

Other foreign nationals have appeared at Wick Sheriff Court this year but have not required the use of an interpreter.

Scotland: Charity's fear over sex fiend interpreter

http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/news/charitys-fear-over-sex-fiend-interpreter-185594n.25661096 
23/10/2014

Charity's fear over sex fiend interpreter

A charity that supports women affected by sexual abuse has expressed "deep concern" after it emerged a convicted sex attacker acted as a translator for vulnerable female asylum seekers.

The Evening Times exclusively revealed last night that Misrak Eyob has access to asylum seekers represented by city lawyers Katani and Co.

The 24-year-old Eritrean was jailed for four years in 2009 for attempted rape and told he must be supervised for a further two years on his release.

Dawn Fyfe, director of Glasgow-based Say Woman, said: "We would be concerned that someone who has a conviction for sex offending would not only have access to survivors of sexual abuse but would be responsible for interpreting their experiences.

"We would hope that any organisation which has any- thing to do with vulnerable people would take every step to ensure that they are not put at risk."

It is understood Eyob, who works on a freelance basis, is not on the Scottish Legal Aid Board's register.

The Scottish Legal Aid Board (SLAB) pays up to £30 an hour for interpretation services.

Solicitors are reimbursed for the money they spend on translators.

A SLAB spokesman said: "It is the solicitor's duty to ensure that the interpreter is appropriate and suitably qualified."

The majority of Eritreans who seek asylum in the UK are given legal aid and immigration lawyers Katani and Co earned more than half a million pounds from SLAB last year alone.

The Evening Times understands the watchdog responsible for regulating Scotland's solicitors is likely to be in touch with Katani and Co following our revelations.

A spokeswoman at the Law Society of Scotland urged clients to complain if they have concerns.

She said: "It's important for clients and the public to be able to have complete faith in their solicitor."

Misrak Eyob attacked a 35-year-old woman in July 2009 in Royston.

During his trial he blamed 'the devil' for his actions.

Eyob, who had been in Scotland seven months at the time of the attack, was found guilty and jailed for four years.

Judge Sean Murphy QC also ordered that Eyob be supervised for a further two years on his release.

A spokesman for Glasgow City Council said: "Registered sex offenders are supervised in the community via the Multi- Agency Public Protection Arrangements, also known as MAPPA.

"Either police or social work staff will take the lead on monitoring an individual, depending on the circumstances of a particular case.

"From a social work perspective such individuals are considered as clients of social work services and we therefore have a legal duty to respect their confidentiality.

"We cannot discuss an individual case."

A Scottish Government spokeswoman also declined to comment on Misrak Eyob's case but said: "Any person receiving a sentence of more than two and a half years is required to tell employers about their past offending when going for a job.

"This ensures employers can know about a person's background when deciding whether to employ them.

"Such offenders are worked with on an individual basis to ensure effective risk management, public protection, harm reduction, and rehabilitation."

A spokeswoman for Katani and Co declined to comment. Misrak Eyob could not be reached for comment.

http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/home-news/sex-attacker-working-as-asylum-interpreter.25660883

http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/news/sex-attacker-found-working-in-glasgow-city-centre-with-vulnerable-185402n.25651199

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2803359/Sex-attacker-jailed-attempted-rape-working-vulnerable-victims-abuse-interpreter-earning-30-hour.html