Intercept interpreters ensure the interlinguistic transfer from oral conversations wiretapped by the police into written evidence that is used in criminal proceedings. So far, this element of the criminal proceedings has received little attention in research, and knowledge on practical implementation of the formal requirements and the related informal practices is scarce. Using Switzerland as a case study, this article examines the daily practices of intercept interpreters within the legal framework. Theoretically, this study aligns with Lipsky's (1980/2010) concept of “street-level bureaucracy”. It is based on 24 semi-structured interviews with intercept interpreters and police officers and on an observational study conducted at the intercept interpreters' workplace in a Swiss police department. The major finding of our qualitative content analysis is that the formal framework is felt as a corset by police officers, and that the police and the intercept interpreters are loosening it in their daily cooperation. However, this is not disclosed in the final production of the formal evidence. Furthermore, the findings show that both are aware of the daily trade-offs between formal requirements and the need for informal working processes.

拦截口译员确保将警方窃听的口头对话跨语言转换为刑事诉讼中使用的书面证据。到目前为止，刑事诉讼的这一要素在研究中很少受到关注，正式要求的实际执行和相关非正式实践的知识也很匮乏。本文以瑞士为案例研究，考察了拦截口译员在法律框架内的日常实践。从理论上讲，这项研究符合 Lipsky (1980/2010) 的“街头官僚”概念。它基于对拦截口译员和警官的 24 次半结构化访谈，以及在瑞士警察局拦截口译员工作场所进行的一项观察性研究。我们定性内容分析的主要发现是，正式框架被警务人员视为紧身胸衣，警察和拦截翻译在日常合作中正在放松它。然而，这并没有在最终出示的正式证据中披露。此外，调查结果表明，他们都意识到正式要求和非正式工作流程需求之间的日常权衡。