 A rise in foreign nationals has been seen at Stranraer port |
Police interpreter costs in Dumfries and Galloway are almost 90 times higher than they were four years ago. A total of just �156 was spent on such services in 2002/03 but that rose to some �14,000 in 2005/06.
Police have attributed the rise to an increase in foreign nationals travelling between Northern Ireland and ports at Stranraer and Cairnryan.
A spokesman added that additional officers posted in Stranraer had also contributed to the increase.
Three officers attached to the UK Immigration Service have been stationed at the Police Operational Support Unit at Stranraer.
False documents
The spokesman said a large number of the people traced were either failed asylum seekers or people using false documentation.
"This results in them being reported to the procurator fiscal," he confirmed.
"As a result of these detections there has been an increase in the costs for the force in relation to using interpreters to assist in the interviewing of these people."
The interpreting costs increased steadily between 2002 and 2005 before rising sharply last year.
In 2003/04 the figure stood at �2,500 which reached �3,000 the following year before leaping to �14,000 in 2005/06.
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