Officer praises sign-language course after forming positive relations with the deaf community

A student officer who learned British Sign Language (BSL) has formed a new relationship with Staffordshire’s deaf community.

PC Abbie Skevington, who’s been part of the East Staffordshire local policing team (LPT) since May 2021, wanted to find new ways of engaging with vulnerable members of the community and has since completed a BSL course alongside working full-time on the beat.

Since then, she’s fostered the relationship between the LPT and the deaf community and is urging fellow officers to consider the course moving forward.

“Learning BSL is such an important way of ensuring we can provide the best possible service to all victims of crime,” said PC Skevington.

“The experiences I’ve had since becoming a PLOD officer (police link officers for deaf people) have been so rewarding. BSL is both a physical and visual language which is great way of giving victims that initial support and peace of mind in a typically frantic and worrying time.

(Above: PC Abbie Skevington (left) and BSL Proud Hands teacher Susan Birkin (right))

“It’s already proven its worth and I’ve been able to interact with a number of deaf residents in Staffordshire and build a rapport between the force and the wider deaf community.

“We’re always looking at ways to diversify and I’m sure that more frontline officers learning BSL would only accelerate this commitment and give us more ways of supporting our communities.”

Officers are currently able to use our dedicated interpreter phoneline through their mobile devices for a number of different languages when interacting with the public.

Those who complete the BSL course are taught how to understand and communicate directions, the time, fingerspelling, hobbies and interests, daily life, family members and many other things.

The course typically takes a year to complete following three separate assessment periods and is accessible remotely – meaning officers can learn on the go whilst they complete their day-to-day duties.

PC Skevington now hopes to complete the second level of the course and host coffee mornings with the deaf community – where she can give important crime prevention advice and communicate what the LPT doing to keep them safe.

She said: “It’s such a rewarding experience to be able to help someone who typically doesn’t have the same level of access to support.

“As a student officer, I’m learning a lot about the job and the people we serve each and every day and I truly believe that extra skills like this really help us to deliver the best possible service in times of need.”