Name
Keith Sinclair

Work
Police constable

Which languages can you speak?
The term “speak” covers a variety of degrees of ability. I can communicate to varying degrees in English, Welsh, French, German, Portuguese and Polish but I would only claim to be fluent in English.

Did you study these languages at college/University?
I studied French at Polytechnic for a year.

Did you always want to become a police officer?
Not really. I didn’t know what I wanted to do until I was about twenty-two when I started going out with a girl who had been in the police. What she told me about the job sounded interesting and here I am.

Why did you decide to study languages?
I’ve been interested in languages from about the age of six. I remember the day I realised that not everybody uses the same words as me and it just amazed me. Since then I’ve been fascinated by languages.

Do you use your languages frequently within your job?
I hardly ever speak English outside of the police station. I occasionally speak French and German. I do speak quite a bit of Portuguese. I speak Polish, however, every single day on any number of occasions to any number of people. I’ve just come back from Warszaw and can honestly say that I speak Polish as often here in Wrexham as in Poland.

If so, in which situations?
I use my languages in every aspect of my job. I do what every other police constable does but in another language.

Why did you choose to learn Polish and Portuguese for your career?
Portuguese-speakers and Polish nationals form the two largest minority groups in Wrexham. Many of the don’t speak English and need the services of the police like anybody else. I decided this was a good chance for me to learn and use a language.

What other languages are heard in the Wrexham area?
English, obviously. Occasionally, Welsh. After that, take your pick. I’ve heard Czech, Slovak, Ukrainian, Lithuanian, Latvian, Romany, a variety of African languages, Turkish, Kurdish, and so on.

In what ways has learning languages benefited your career?
I don’t think it will help my career in the sense of promotion and so on, but from a personal point of view I get great satisfaction from being able to help members of the minority communities, some of whom are very vulnerable as they cannot communicate with the “safety mechanisms” which we take for granted.

Would you recommend that young people choose languages as a subject in school?
Yes, I would. Learning a second language helps you understand your own language from a new point of view. You also get to appreciate other cultures from a closer point of view which helps broaden your horizons. And you get to make interesting friends with other lifestyles.