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Police in UK Use iPods to Help Trafficking Victims

iPods will be used by police to help victims of human trafficking, cops revealed.

The Durham force has bought them to improve communication between the authorities and people smuggled into the country.

The palm-sized devices have been pre-programmed with messages in a variety of languages, designed to assist the victim through their first contact with officers.

Many come from countries which have a deep mistrust of the police, so those behind the scheme hope what victims hear through the iPods' headphones will provide reassurance they will come to no harm.

Audio files have been recorded in Albanian, Portuguese, Czech, French, Lithuanian, Malay, Mandarin, Romanian, Russian and Thai.

The iPods are kept in police stations across the county.

Detective Chief Inspector Paul Harker said: "For some nationalities it can take several hours to find an official interpreter.

"The iPods are meant to be a basic measure, a first step before we are able to get hold of someone who can speak the same language as the victim.

"And if they come from a place where the police are feared or mistrusted, it makes the task of getting vital information from them much more difficult."

Adapted from: "Police use iPods to help trafficking victims." Sunderland Echo. 8 August 2007.