Translator at Police Station

Some do Speak English so you could be ok.

When we were the subject of a burglary (which involved said burglar seeing me in nothing but a pair of boxer shorts running down the stairs to meet him!), I needed a translator as my Spanish was not sufficiently good enough so as to provide a statement to the police.

As it was, the individuals (there were 3) were caught by the Guardia as they had committed a number of offences that particular evening some of which were caught on household CCTV.

I always take the view that when dealing with officialdom, it is entirely reasonable for them to expect you to be conversant in the language of the country you're in. I wasn't - so I paid a translator to help me.

When dealing with medical or police matters you are usually expected to take your own translator with you.

We were also the subject of a burglary, which went to Court. When we turned up with our Translator, she was allowed to act for us, as she wasn’t one of their ‘official’ translators. Might be worth remembering if a matter goes further than the Guardia Civil. 

Hi, thanks for all the advice.
I need to make a report to the police regarding the withdrawal of money from my bank account, so they will refund it, the total amount about €145 ,
The ideal result due to the  amount of money involved and the cost of a translator and the nightmare of parking in the area I was going to go on my bike and if there is a translator who lives locally to the police station meet them there?
PM me if you can help

Having read that you were burgled and in residence, I’m wondering how they got into your house.  Were all the shutters and gates closed over?  I always imagine that nobody could get into our place but I’m beginning to realise that I’m only fooling myself.   You must have got a terrible shock!  I’m delighted to hear that they were apprehended.  Hateful creatures and others were burgled too. Awful 

Hope that’s the last time anything like that happens to you all. 

Fortunately he didn’t get into the house. We heard someone on the roof, then I spotted him on the terrace, as we didn’t have the curtains closed in our bedroom. He’d climbed into next door’s garden and onto the roof, via their log store (which is no longer there!!) - doing €250 AM f damage to our solar water heater. I called 112, and the Guardia Civil arrived within 5-10 minutes and caught him in next door’s garden. He was Morrocan and of no fixed abode. Needless to say, he didn’t turn up for the Court hearing. 
However, my husband sadly died in January, and despite the cameras we immediately installed around the garden, I now feel very nervous and vulnerable on my own, in a house that I had previously thought was pretty secure. 

At the time, we lived in a "gated community" but the gates didn't have locks on them - they do now.

In terms of how they got in, our patio doors have the usual grill but I, after a few too many wines, forgot to lock it albeit it was shut. The patio doors themselves don't have a lock on - they're secured by pushing the handle up.

So the burglar was able to open the grill and then force the patio door so as to gain entry. As it was, they were interrupted by me before they actually stole anything of note.

The worrying thing was that the patio door showed no signs of damage at all. The Guardia turned up within about 10 minutes and when I went down to give my statement the following day, they informed my translator they had caught the individuals and recovered some items from other properties where they had managed to take things.  

Are you saying that all you need is a crime reference number?

If that is the case, in an unrelated incident to the burglary, I was able to do this online. I don't have the paperwork anymore but I filled in an online form (might have needed a digital certificate) and then needed to attend the national police station in Orihuela City where they printed out my form/statement, stamped it and gave it to me.

This was in 2020 so during the pandemic but I cycled across to Orihuela to avoid any parking issues before cycling back home. 

In my case it was needed for an insurance claim but suspect it would also fit the bill to resolve the issue with your bank.

I'd googled a few phrases so I was able to tell them what I was attending for but in this case I didn't need a translator - the reason there was no need for a translator eas because the completion of the online form was effectively used to complete the statement the police printed out. So I got a 2 page statement from the police - wholly in Spanish - by completing a few boxes online.