Deaf Police Training

Police officer

Police officers in precincts around the country are often required to complete training for communicating with the deaf. Since much of policing is aural and comes with the expectation that instructions will be heeded immediately, the deaf present a particular challenge to the police. Thus, special training for police officers is critical to properly serve the more than 1 million functionally deaf and 10 million hard-of-hearing people in the United States.

The Deaf and the Police

Training courses offered by government agencies like the California Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training stress that the deaf or hard of hearing often fear that a communication misunderstanding with police could lead to arrest or injury for not quickly responding to an officer's commands, or that a slow response might be mistaken for the influence of drugs or alcohol or disrespect. Training also teaches police officers to communicate with the deaf without relying on lipreading, since only around 30 percent to 35 percent of the English language is visible by observing the lips.

Training Tips

Police training for approaching the deaf includes instruction in identifying and communicating with deaf people. Officers learn to speak appropriately--neither too quickly or too slowly--and to avoid overenunciation, which impairs lipreading. Police officers also learn to get attention with a physical cue such as a tap on the shoulder, or a visual cue such as waving a hand. They learn to offer a pencil and paper if possible. Officers should also approach the situation by clearly making firm, non-threatening statements such as "Stay calm," and "I am here to help."

Administering Miranda Rights

In 1966, the U.S. Supreme Court held in Miranda v. Arizona that a person must be informed of his constitutional rights, including the right to an attorney prior to interrogation. Deaf suspects must have access to an interpreter to sign their Miranda rights to them, or to written information about their rights, before interrogation can begin. Interrogation may be thus temporarily delayed to ensure that officers uphold the suspect's rights.

Visor Cards and Driver's License Stickers

The deaf can ease relations with the police by carrying identification such as a visor card or driver's license sticker that quickly and easily communicates their disability to officers. The visor is a sign that stays on the front of a car's sun visor or vanity mirror and states in large letters, "Driver is Hard of Hearing." The visor card can easily be seen if a deaf driver is pulled over. The driver's license sticker also indicates that the driver is hard of hearing, but may be overlooked by officers in states that don't issue these stickers.

Federal Mandate

Police officer conduct and training with respect to deaf persons is also regulated by two federal statutes: Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act. Both statutes prohibit discrimination on the basis of ability or disability, which means that all people, including the deaf and hard of hearing, must have equal access to law enforcement. The ADA states that police officers must provide accommodations such as real-time captioning, listening devices or other aids to ensure clear communication. Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act also states that qualified interpreters must be provided to assist law enforcement agencies when needed for interrogation or interaction with the hearing-impaired.

References

• PoliceOne.com: "N.Y. police train for dealing with deaf"
• AllDeaf.com: "How Many Deaf People Are There in the United States? Estimates From the Survey of Income and Program Participation"
• American Sign Language University: "Peace Officer Training and the Deaf"
• Gallaudet University Press: "Trampling Miranda: Interrogating Deaf Suspects"
• HearingLossWeb.com: "Visor Cards and Driver's License Stickers"