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In this case study we explain how our Language Services framework helped ACRO Criminal Records Office put in place a machine translation solution that has improved efficiency and saved £6,000 in 3 months.

The requirement

ACRO Criminal Records Office is a national police unit working to keep communities safe. Managing the UK Central Authority for the Exchange of Criminal Records, ACRO exchanges conviction information with EU member states. Many of these documents can be used as evidence in court – at times in extremely serious cases. 

They need criminal conviction information translated so they can map the offence(s) to the equivalent in English law. Some reports can be more than 100 pages and contain important details that need to be efficiently and accurately extracted. 

An incorrect translation could result in a case being thrown out of court. This means ACRO needed a translation solution that would help them improve efficiency and reduce costs, without impacting on quality. 

The solution

Using our Language Services framework, ACRO appointed the language service provider, thebigword, to implement a WordSynk translation solution as it met their requirements to improve efficiency, accuracy and quality. 

In addition, they are using thebigword’s Voyager technology which enables reports to be scanned and the relevant pages identified. This ensures that only the necessary pages are sent to thebigword for translation, narrowing down the scope of the project, speeding up the delivery time and reducing costs.

The results

Since October 2020, ACRO has submitted 1,796 projects (999,480 words) and realised savings of around £6,000. About 65% of projects submitted are now being processed using the machine translation service, and the number of pages needing translation is down by 64%.

Lisa Stevens, Senior Manager – International at ACRO, commented: 

“The solutions provided by thebigword are extremely welcome. They allow us to use our time efficiently and, importantly, we have been able to redirect the money we have saved on translation costs to our community safety and public protection services.

We take our responsibility towards criminal records information services seriously. 

We have quality control measures in place for our processes, including translation, and we work closely with thebigword to ensure the solutions work to deliver an effective and mutually beneficial service.”  

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Email info@crowncommercial.gov.uk

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