Find out more about our InterAction Leadership programme.
Strathclyde police sign up to help the deaf communityStrathclyde Police officers learned basic British Sign Language in the first bespoke training course of its kind last month as part of a week of 'Learn to Sign' events aimed at improving communications between the police and members of the Deaf community.
The initiative, the first of its kind to involve police officers, was organised by Sergeant Faroque Hussain, in consultation with Helga McGilp, Director of the Scottish Association of Sign Language Interpreters, after both had taken part in the British Council’s InterAction programme.
Police officers and staff from the London Road Police Office in Glasgow took part in the training, run by the British Deaf Association, which included Deaf etiquette training to make officers more aware of Deaf sensitivities and culture. They were taught basic signing techniques and phrases to help reassure deaf people about what was happening when dealing with the police. These included 'you are not under arrest' and 'an interpreter is on the way'.
‘Learn to Sign’ week is a campaign run by the British Deaf Association throughout the UK every year in October. The Strathclyde Police week of events were developed with the support of a number of agencies; British Deaf Association, Strathclyde Fire & Rescue, Victim Support, Crimestoppers and Childline.
The initiative followed a unique police consultation event with people who are deaf to try and better understand their needs. The other events of the week included a day’s visit by pupils from St Vincent's School for the Deaf and St Roch's Secondary School to London Road Police office (where they received a presentation from Childline on their new online service); an open day at Calton fire station and a community event to address issues of community safety, and domestic and sexual abuse.
Sergeant Faroque Hussain, who is based at the London Road Police Office, said: ‘The InterAction programme had a very diverse group of participants and gave me the opportunity to work with people that I would not have otherwise met. The programme gave me the chance to learn from Helga and see where we could improve our services and relations with the Deaf community.
‘The Deaf community is frequently forgotten when organisations think about their systems. As a result of the consultation events we held, the police have started a process of thinking about how we work with and impact on people who are deaf – be that those who are arrested or those who are in need of protection or have a crime to report. I think this is only the start and we’ll be looking at more of these types of initiatives in the future.'
Alison Jeffrey, InterAction Project Delivery Officer said: The Strathclyde police ‘Learn to Sign’ week of events is a great example of positive change and demonstrates the InterAction programme’s focus on building bridges between communities.’
InterAction
InterAction is aimed at developing community leadership. The programme, which runs across eight countries in the Middle East, North Africa and Scotland, gives Scottish participants the opportunity to develop skills and share perspectives internationally with others who share their passion for community development. One of the key themes the programme addresses is ‘working with difference’ – how we can build stronger communities, locally and internationally, by working effectively with diversity on a range of levels.
For more information on our InterAction programme please visit the web site or email scotland-interaction@britishcouncil.org.
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