19
The inside of the police station looked as drab and depressing as the outside. In the custody suite, the arresting officers told the custody sergeant what the boys had been arrested for, explaining that a concerned local resident had phoned to report the trespass and that the officers were concerned as there had been a number of burglaries in the area recently. He also mentioned that the boys had been unwilling to cooperate and hadn’t provided their names.
The custody sergeant asked them if they spoke English.
‘I do,’ Milan said, ‘but my friend’s is not so good.’
‘We’ll organise an interpreter for him. What language does he speak?’
‘Serbian. But I can translate.’
‘No, sorry. We need to use an official translator. Do you understand the reasons for your arrest?’
‘Yes.’
‘And are yo
