Interpreter mediated questioning of minors (ImQM): convergence and interaction through joint training of police officers and interpreters

The CO-Minor-IN/QUEST project (Cooperation in Interpreter-Mediated Questioning of Minors - JUST/2011/JPEN/AG/2961) is the first research project that has focused on interviewing children in the pre-trial phase of criminal cases, particularly with the assistance of an interpreter. This very specific setting involves a multi-disciplinary team: behavioral scientists, psychologists, psychiatrists, legal actors (lawyers, police officers and examining magistrates) and interpreters. Teamwork is even more necessary when children appear to be extremely vulnerable (having a mental or physical impairment, belonging to minorities, etc.). The findings and results of the project have been disseminated through a final conference and a book publication (August 2015) to draw attention to this delicate matter, and formulate recommendations to all stakeholders and other member states (https://www.arts.kuleuven.be/tolkwetenschap/projecten/co_minor_in_quest/children-and-justice). The next step is now to advance policy change at all levels of society and to overcome the new challenges uncovered by the CO-Minor-IN/QUEST project. This means that different groups of interpreter users should cooperate more closely, and should work as a team in trying to reach the main goal: ensuring the wellbeing of children who by definition find themselves in an unpleasant situation (be it as victim, witness or suspect, refugee, asylum seeker, etc.). This objective can be realized through the exchange of good practices and know-how by the various professionals involved in ImQM (Interpreter- mediated Questioning of Minors), in other words through joint training. This can be a joint training of psychologists or child support workers with interpreters or of legal actors with interpreters, or even a joint training of all professionals involved in ImQM. In our presentation, we will analyze a specific joint training programme of interpreter trainers and police officers (650 child interviewers). Since the police officers work with the TAM method (Techniek Audiovisuele verhoren Minderjarigen /Techniques Audiovisuelles d’audition de Mineurs; Technique for Audio-visual interviewing of Minors), the training was called “T(E)AM-work with interpreters”. It introduced the work of the interpreters in both a theoretical and interactive way. Next to that, we will present the main points of feedback regarding (video-recorded) role-plays. These role-plays (in French, Hungarian and Flemish Sign Language) were the subject of a two-day “Training for trainers session” (one in French, one in Dutch) for police trainers in child interviewing. That way, the trainers were directly involved in the role-play itself, as well as in the analysis of what happens when an interview is interpreter mediated. Subsequently, they can pass on this knowledge and skills to their trainee police officers.status: publishe