ABSTRACT
As this book focuses on professional ethics for interpreters and translators working in a very important eld – policing and law enforcement – this chapter starts with a discussion of the essential question of what is meant by ‘profession’ and how it should be dened. We consider this critical because any study of professional ethics must rst start with the identication of the role played by a particular profession in the society in which it operates. Ultimately, the question of whether something is appropriate or not in any
professional practice will have to be judged by its relevance to the professional’s role in a particular situation. is is also important for police interpreters and translators, as many activities in policing increasingly involve people with language barriers, resulting in the need for language assistance. In many formal activities, such as a police interview, this language assistance needs to be provided by an interpreter or a translator.
