Archive for category Police
New Zealand Police and Deaf Man
There’s an article on the New Zealand News website called Police defend move to send in the dogs.
Essentially, a Deaf man aimed a replica Glock pistol at two neighbours, who then called the police. The police arrived, and after bellowing at him to come out of his flat, which he didn’t do, they sent in two police dogs who then bit him so severely he had to stay in hospital and required plastic surgery.
Detective Senior Sergeant Mike Oxnam said yesterday that armed offender squad members knew of the man’s disability and said a local police officer had been able to raise the man three weeks earlier by simply knocking on the door.
This is preposterous. Perhaps the man opened the door simply because he was standing by the window and saw them at the front door, or perhaps he was about to leave the flat, or saw a silhouette outline in the door? This sort of presumption is unacceptable – find out the facts instead of presuming.
… officers had tried everything to get the man to come out, including knocking down the front door and standing in the hallway of the small flat yelling at him with a loud hailer.
That’s a really effective way of attracting a Deaf man’s attention!
Even the neighbours thought the treatment was unnecessary:
Neighbours, upset at the treatment of the man, said he would not have heard police demands to come out.
Where are the apologies? Deaf awareness training? I hope the Deaf man sues the police!
Disabled people & the police – a new relationship?
The Metropolitan Police Authority (MPA) and Greater London Action on Disability (GLAD) are holding a conference
Disabled people and the Police ? a new relationship?
Thursday 7th October 2004
at the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre
Broad Sanctuary London SW1P 3EE
Disabled people and the Police ? a new relationship is the title of a report commissioned by the MPA, which will form the basis of the conference discussion. The report is disabled people?s view of what London?s police force should be doing. The MPA and GLAD have joined together to enable this to happen. In the past the police have neglected to consult fully with disabled people. This conference is a clear sign of the willingness of the police authority to engage with disabled people to help create a disability agenda.
We need your input! Your experience with the police is important. We want to hear from you.
The conference should be popular so please book asap!
For further information contact: Selina Scott, GLAD, 336 Brixton Road, London SW9 7AA. Tel: 020 7346 5800. Minicom: 020 7326 4554. Fax: 020 7346 8844. Email: s.scott@glad.org.uk
New PLODs for Somerset East (Somerset East)
Somerset East Police have two PLODs to help forge good relations with the deaf community.
Sergeant Steve Christopher and PC Alison Norman are taking part in the force?s Police Link Officers for Deaf People (PLOD) scheme.
They have volunteered for the role and are receiving deaf awareness and sign language training.
They have also been issued with special mobile phones which have a textphone software package which means it can work as a mobile Minicom which has been developed by the Royal National Institute for the Deaf.
Sergeant Steve Christopher said: ?I have studied some British Sign Language which gave me an insight into the issues faced daily by the deaf community.
?We value our role within all our communities and I believe that volunteering for PLOD is a positive step to improving our service to the deaf community. ?
PC Alison Norman added: ? Being the mother of profoundly deaf four year old I have come into regular contact with the deaf community and have become aware of the problems they face in trying to contact the emergency services.
?I am sure PLOD will greatly improve the service we are providing to the deaf community.?
Deaf speech misinterpreted as drunk speech
The following article, taken from here, illustrates the ignorance of police officers and deafness:
A DEAF driver spat at police and assaulted officers who tried to question her about a suspected drink-drive offence.
Officers trying to question ….[snip] … did not realise her speech impediment was a normal characteristic of deaf people and thought she was drunk, Sutton magistrates heard on on July 18.
[snip]
She is hard of hearing and police said her speech was slurred and she was drunk.
[snip]
This is not the first time Deaf people appeared in the media, in respect of a police officer misunderstanding them. In recent times, a Deaf person was accused of making a two fingered gesture at an officer which was interpreted as rude; when in fact the Deaf person said that they were signing that they were Deaf.
I’ve personally been the subject of misinterpretation of my behaviour, and classed as drunk; on the simple basis of bad communication.
Whilst initiatives such as the one at Westminster and Hampshire are to be recognised, a nationwide strategic approach needs to be adopted to eliminate such misunderstandings.
Your chance to advise the Met on disability issues
The Metropolitan Police Service is recruiting disabled people to become independent advisors to the Met on community police issues.
The new Disability Independent Advisory Group (IAG) will help the Met to improve its service for disabled people. Its involvement could range from reviewing and improving the investigation and prevention of disability hate crime to advising on how to create a disability aware police service and assisting in critical incidents.
The impetus to set up a Disability IAG came from a community consultation conference that the Met hosted in 2003, which was attended by police officers and disabled members of the public.
Linda Van den Hende, Director of the Met’s Strategic Disability Team, said:
“This is a unique opportunity for disabled people to make a positive contribution to policing in London. Through this new group we want to ensure that their needs are addressed and that liaison and trust continues to be built between the police and disabled people in the capital. We will be working together to make London a safer place to live and work.
“I would urge anyone interested in joining the group to contact us for more information and an application pack.”
Disabled people interested in applying should contact the Met’s Strategic
Disability Team:
Telephone: 020 7230 2576
Fax: 020 7230 2392
Textphone: 18001 020 7230 2140
Email: disability@met.police.uk
Website: www.met.police.uk
The closing date for applications is 31 August 2004.
Application packs are available in other formats on request.
Other independent advisory groups already exist within the Met. In January 1999 the Independent Advisory Group was established. The Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Advisory Group was set up in January 2000 to meet the specific needs of this community. Building on this, a number of specialist and local groups have also been formed.
The Met sees involvement and advice from Londoners as an integral part of 21st century policing in the capital. The existing advisory groups represent the most significant consultation and advice mechanisms the police have ever had.
For further information and interview requests, contact Sarah Partridge on 020 7230 3509 or email sarah.partridge@met.police.uk
Press Bureau
New Scotland Yard
Contact Numbers: Met Police in Westminster
Following the Press Release from the Met Police in Westminster, the contact numbers for the officers are:
Voicemail: 0207 230 0793
Fax: 0207 230 0795
Minicom: 0207 230 0794
SMS text: 07990 672 801
Email: westminster.diversity@met.police.uk
Met Police say, “I must stress that the service is for non-urgent calls only in the City of Westminster borough (ie covered by Paddington, Belgravia, WestEnd Central, Charing Cross and Marylebone police stations).”
Additional note: the textphone numbers for the Met Police are available here.
Met Police launches new service for Deaf Community in Westminster
A new service for deaf and hard of hearing people, who live, work or socialise in the City of Westminster will be launched by the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) on 9/6/04.
Four dedicated police officers have been trained in basic British Sign Language (BSL) and deaf awareness as part of the new ?Link Officer? scheme to improve communication with Deaf, deafened and hard of hearing people.
The Link Officers will provide communication support in non-urgent situations, for example giving crime prevention advice or taking a crime report. They may also be called to assist at a police station reception or at the scene of a crime.
The police officers will also carry special mobile devices that allow people to contact them by voice, text, email or fax. Damovo, who deals with the MPS Telephony Contract, has supplied this equipment.
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