Document translations for a correctional facility is a critical aspect in the prison system, especially when it comes to ensuring the protection of the inmate’s rights.
However, due to the complexity of the legal language and sometimes the time constraints, it’s easy to make mistakes that might cause serious legal problems.
We’ll show you some of the worst translations mistake in the context of correctional facilities and how to avoid them.
Interpretation Mistakes: Translating legal documents requires a high level of language proficiency and knowledge of the legal language. When a translator makes a mistake in the interpretation of a document, it can affect the legal validity of the translation and jeopardize the inmate’s rights.
Believe or not, it’s true! Has it happened to you?
Omitting Information: Including all relevant information in a translation document is critical, as it can have a significant impact on the final, legal outcome. Omitting critical information can result in an incomplete translation and jeopardize a the inmate’s rights.
Incorrect Use of Legal Terminology: Legal terms are specific and cannot be loosely or wrongly translated. The improper use of a legal term might have severe consequences for the facility.
Machine Translation: Machine translation is a useful tool for some translators. However, it shouldn’t be used in the translation of legal or official documents, like an inmate handbook, for instance.
Machine translation lacks the human ability to understand the subtleties of the real legal language; therefore, it might lead to major translation mistakes.
Another common mistake in the official document translation:
Not Proofreading: It’s very important to make sure that the translation is accurate and easy to understand for the inmate before it’s sent into the process. Not proofreading your document might lead to translation mistakes that might jeopardize the rights of an inmate.
In conclusion:
Official and legal translation and interpretation in a correctional facility is a critical aspect in the protection of the rights of the population.
To avoid these mistakes, make sure that:
You have native, professional and skilled legal translators.
You are carefully reviewing every translation before using it.
You are verifying that both the inmate and your staff properly understand the implications within every document.
Any translation mistake might bear legal consequences and endanger the freedom (or the life even) of an inmate.
Bear in mind that adequate translation services are not only important for the inmates, but also for the facility staff, lawyers and government agencies involved. All the parts need an accurate and reliable translation to make informed and fair decisions.
If you’re looking for a translation service for your correctional facility, think about an experienced and reliable vendor.
Do not jeopardize the rights of the inmates in your facility.
Do you have any translation questions about internal formats? Ask us!
Talk to our consultants and they will help you.