Deaf students advise police on best practice - as they help develop new guidance
The work by pupils from Devon will have an impact far and wide
Last updated 17th Mar 2025
Students from Devon's Deaf Academy in Exmouth have been training police - across the country - to help break down barriers.
They've created a new resource aiming at improving interactions - announced as part of British Sign Language Awareness Week.
Mark Stocks, Partnership and Community Manager at the Deaf Academy, said: “This project has been led by our Academy’s Deaf Awareness Group who are passionate about helping the wider public to understand the culture and language of the deaf community.
Deaf Academy student Amy, who took part in the training, said: “It will be helpful for the police to be more aware of deaf people and the way they communicate whether they are being questioned in an interview, a victim of crime, asked questions at a roadside check or being arrested.
"It is important that the police are aware that they don't take a deaf person's rights away, for example if they handcuff a deaf person.
“I learnt from delivering this training that it doesn't matter who the audience is; the most important thing is to share with people how they can be deaf aware and how best to communicate with a deaf person. Then hopefully they can share this information more widely within their organisations.”