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Police interviews: Communication challenges and solutions
Edited by Luna Filipović
[Pragmatics and Society 10:1] 2019

Striving for impartiality

Conflicts of role, trust and emotion in interpreter-assisted police interviews

| University of Derby
| De Montfort University

In the context of interpreter-assisted police interviews (IAPIs) it is essential for both police officers and interpreters to maintain impartiality at all times. However, there are numerous obstacles on the way towards achieving this fundamental goal. The present study examines whether and how the different conflicts in communication are constructed and controlled within the different phases of police interviews, using a self-administered questionnaire that explores the perceptions of police officers and interpreters. Three areas of conflict pertinent to impartiality were identified: role, trust and emotion. The differing assumptions about the roles of police officers and interpreters, and the respective differing expectations, appear to create barriers in the achievement of trust and in the working relationship as a whole, which may well affect the aim of IAPIs (i.e. to gather reliable information) and alter the interview outcomes. In addition, both police officers and interpreters have strong emotional experiences during IAPIs; however, neither group appear to make conscious efforts to engage in coping strategies.

Keywords: impartiality, interpreters, investigative interviewing, emotion, police interviews
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
    • 1.1Conflict of role
    • 1.2Conflict of trust
    • 1.3Conflict of emotion
    • 1.4Research questions
  • 2.Method
    • 2.1Participants
    • 2.2Research materials
  • 3.Data analysis: Quantitative
    • 3.1Briefing
    • 3.2Errors
    • 3.3Emotions experienced
    • 3.4Response to emotion
    • 3.5Debriefing
  • 4.Data analysis: Qualitative
    • 4.1Well-being
    • 4.2Language preparation
    • 4.3Lack of briefing
    • 4.4Maintaining control of the interview
  • 5.Discussion
    • 5.1Conflict of role: How proper briefing may help
    • 5.2Conflict of trust: The issues of perceived competence and control
    • 5.3Conflict of emotion: Dealing with emotions during and after IAPIs
    • 5.4Limitations of the study
  • 6.Conclusion
  • Note
  • References
Published online: 28 May 2019
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/ps.00018.wil
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