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About the exam

Is it right for me?

The Diploma in Police Interpreting (DPI) is a professional qualification for those who work, or would like to work, as interpreters for Police forces in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Level: degree level in terms of language skills required.

Dates

Registration for the November 2024 DPSI exams will open soon. Please note minimum candidate numbers are required for certain languages to run, so please be ready to register early to avoid disappointment.

The June 2024 exam dates are:

Examiners' Recommendations to DPSI Candidates & Course Providers

Every year, examiners are asked by CIOL Qualifications to provide recommendations on how candidates may be helped to perform better in the DPSI examination. Although not all candidates taking the examination have necessarily followed courses the examiners would like to provide the following advice to candidates, and also to course providers on how they can support their students in their preparations for the DPSI examination. This is a summary of advice gathered from the last few DPSI exam rounds.

Recommendations to Candidates

General advice

• Candidates should bear in mind that the DPSI is a professional examination at degree level and ensure that they are proficient in both English and the target language prior to registering on a DPSI course. It is vital to be able to write well in the target language in order to be able to produce a translation which reads like an original piece of writing.

• Study past exam papers.

• Exam dates and fees for the Diploma in Translation

The standard of a candidate’s work is assessed by breaking down the constituent elements that make up a professionally usable translation, i.e. how the candidate understands the source text (decoding) and renders this into the target language (encoding) in such a way that the text reads as if it had originally been written in the target language.

Candidates should also be aware of strategies that can assist in the production of faithful translations. As a guide, consider the following recognised techniques:

Direct translation techniques

They are used when structural and conceptual elements of the source language can be transposed into the target language: