Press release
“Two thirds of public don鈥檛 think deaf people are allowed in the police force
62% of public aren鈥檛 confident deaf people can work for the police.
National Police Chiefs鈥� Council says police want applications from deaf people.
Just one in ten deaf young people get tailored careers advice.
Charity聽says this is 鈥渁n institutionalised injustice and it has to change.鈥�
Two thirds of the general public don鈥檛 think deaf people can work in the police force, a new survey shows.
The poll of 2,176 people, commissioned by the National Deaf Children鈥檚 Society for National Careers Week (7-12 March), reveals that 62% of the public aren鈥檛 confident that deaf people are allowed to be employed in the police service.
In fact, deaf people can work in a range of roles, such as police officers and staff, special constables and Police Community Support Officers.聽There鈥檚 also a variety of non-community-facing positions open to them, from communications and crime to forensics and fingerprints officers.
The National Police Chiefs鈥� Council has also confirmed that police forces across the country have deaf members of staff and it says deaf young people should apply.
The National Deaf Children鈥檚 Society ran the poll as part of its Deaf Works Everywhere campaign, which aims to get more deaf young people into work and into jobs that inspire them.
The charity is concerned that misconceptions like this may cause聽deaf young people to limit or change their plans, ruling out career options like the police because they wrongly believe they can鈥檛 apply.
It also fears that the problem begins at school. In a separate survey, it found that just one in ten deaf young people had received careers advice tailored to their deafness, while a third had received no advice at all.
As a result, the charity says schools have a huge role to play in providing deaf young people with careers advice that is fully accessible, informs them of their rights and makes them aware of the many career choices available.
It also says employers need to develop a good understanding of the adjustments they can make for deaf young people and make sure they reach them during recruitment drives.
With the right careers advice and deaf aware employers, the charity says there is no limit to what deaf young people can achieve.
Deputy Chief Constable Rachel Kearton, Lead for Workforce Diversity and Representation at the National Police Chiefs鈥� Council, said:
鈥淲e are committed to achieving a representative workforce and warmly welcome applications from all members of the community. Forces across the country have deaf members of staff who have successful and rewarding careers, working to keep communities safe.
鈥淭here are many roles within the police service, including police officers, police staff, special constables and Police Community Support Officers. Many of these jobs can be done by deaf people.
鈥淧olice forces are happy to help and provide more information if there is a role that would interest you. They will support you through the application and selection process. If you are successful, you will be given the support you need to do your job.鈥�
Martin聽McLean, Senior Policy Adviser at the National Deaf Children鈥檚 Society, added:
鈥淲e were really shocked by these figures and it鈥檚 a clear sign that deaf young people just don鈥檛 get the information they need.
鈥淒eafness doesn鈥檛 hold young people back, but myths and misconceptions do and if they wrongly believe that many careers are out of bounds, many will end up unfairly limiting their ambitions. It鈥檚 an institutionalised injustice and it has to change.
鈥淲e need schools to offer better careers advice tailored to deaf young people鈥檚 needs and it must start now. Employers also need to play their part by doing more to reach deaf young people and inspiring them to make an application.
鈥淭here鈥檚 an entire generation of deaf potential out there and after a few important changes, it can finally be unleashed.鈥�
