On Friday 28th April 2023 the first National Police Interpreter of the Year Awards were held at the Natonal Police Language Services Conference, organised by the national lead for language services, the Leicestershire Police.

CIOL Vice President Baroness Coussins delivered the keynote address congratulating the winners. The awards ceremony celebrated and was a powerful reminder of the extraordinarily important and challenging work Public Service Interpreters do within the Criminal Justice System.

Spoken Interpreter of the Year for 2023 is Samira Hajmi, with Shefki Bytyqi the runner-up and the Simon Cole Award for Excellence in Police Interpreting went to Karina Stefanescu. Awards were also given for Non-Spoken Interpreter of the Year to Alison Gilchrist and runner up Lesley Weatherson. 

A special mention must also go to Ian Fraser and Mark Lewis of Leicester police, for all their work in supporting police interpreting nationally and for conceiving and managing these Awards.