POLICE spending on interpreters to help solve crime in the South has risen by almost 50 per cent in five years, figures have revealed.

Hampshire Constabulary said it spent £523,724 on hiring interpreters and carrying out translations in 2007/8 – up from £350,968 in 2003/4.

The Conservative party claimed the figures showed the UK was letting in more foreign criminals than ever before.

Shadow Minister for Police Reform, David Ruffley, said: “These figures suggest we are importing more foreign criminals and consequently spending already stretched police budgets on translations rather than on more frontline policing of our streets.

“As the Chief Constable of Cambridgeshire said last year, migration into the UK has put even greater strain on already tight police force budgets.”

But Hampshire Constabulary pointed out the figures related to the force’s overall spending on interpretation – including help for witnesses and victims as well as suspects.

A spokesman said: “We serve a number of different and diverse communities across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight and it’s important that everyone living here feels they have the confidence to speak to us and report crime. Translators and interpreters are a crucial part of the police service.

“We use them to support anyone who comes into contact with the police and who may have difficulty communicating in English. This includes the victims of crime, as well as witnesses and suspects.”

The Government said it had made radical changes to the immigration system that included a new requirement for entrants to have an “acceptable” level of spoken English to reduce the need for interpreters in future.

A Home Office spokesman said: “We are undergoing the biggest shake up of the immigration system and border security for over 45 years. Under our new Australian-style points system, skilled workers wanting to come to the UK will also need to have an acceptable level of English.

“In addition we are asking migrants to pay a little extra towards a fund of tens of millions of pounds to help services deal with the short term pressures of migration.”