Policing Pledge in British Sign Language

Date published: 22 February 2010

Deaf People across Lancashire are to receive a unique version of the Policing Pledge to make it easier for them to understand.

The national Pledge, which highlights the level of service people can expect to receive from Lancashire Constabulary, has now been developed in British Sign Language.

There are 10 key themes which include answering calls promptly, giving the public a say and influence over how their neighbourhoods are policed, providing up to date details about local crime and how a victim of crime in treated and supported.

The Pledge, which can often be found in places like local community centres, doctors surgeries and post offices and is also available on the force website, has now been translated into a number of different languages, an Easy Read format and now into British Sign Language (BSL) with subtitles via a DVD.

PCSO James Holland, from Lancashire Constabulary’s Community Cohesion and Diversity Unit, said: “Lancashire Constabulary continually strives to improve service provision for the Deaf community.

“Here in Lancashire every person counts, which means we are well placed to deliver the various elements of the Policing Pledge.

“We have dedicated police officers and staff working in neighbourhoods and we actively encourage everybody, including those who may be Deaf or hard of hearing, to get involved with policing, thus making their communities safer – which is precisely the reason we have introduced this DVD.

“What people often forget is that Deaf people often struggle to understand written English because BSL is a language in its own right and has its own grammatical structure. A DVD version of the Policing Pledge will allow members of the Deaf community to understand exactly what they can expect from Lancashire Constabulary.”

For more information about the Policing Pledge and what this means to you in your local area visit the Constabulary website www.lancashire.police.uk