Community support officers learn sign language

The officers were praised as Dyfed Powys Police as part of the Neighbourhood Policing week of action – a week to recognise and celebrate the achievements of community policing.

Dyfed-Powys Police deputy chief constable Claire Parmenter said: "Neighbourhood Policing officers, PCSOs and volunteers perform such a crucial role in the landscape of policing. I am delighted that for the first time we're having a week such as this to recognise, support and celebrate their achievements.

"The work they do to prevent crime from happening through early intervention and developing new ways of tackling crime through problem solving is crucial. But equally important is the strong links they build with our communities, which means they are best placed to gather intelligence on a range of issues.

“These strong links with local residents, partners, and businesses help create our local policing priorities that can make a real difference in communities. Thank you to all the amazing, hard-working neighbourhood officers, PCSOs and volunteers who do an incredible job keeping us safe, but also feeling safe.”

There will also be a focus on the wellbeing of neighbourhood teams during the week, and a schedule of events and materials is underway to support them.

The team of Police Community Support Officers who worked during the pandemic to gain a better understanding of the challenges facing the Deaf community, and developing important community relationships, has won an award.

The nine PCSOs attended weekly British Sign Language sessions, putting in more than 150 hours of study time and achieving Level 2 qualifications.

Their tutor Sarah Lawrence said: “They immersed themselves in Deaf culture and history, and the challenges facing Deaf people. Their desire and ambition to learn her language had been truly heart-warming.

“As a member of the Deaf community I am delighted to say that each one of them ‘gets it’ - the isolation and barriers Deaf people face when trying to access any form of service.

“By learning BSL they have completely changed that dynamic, the lack of trust within the Deaf community and sometimes the lack of understanding. Through a shared language Dyfed-Powys Police now has more knowledge and understanding of the barriers people face when accessing policing services.”