In summary, there are two types of hearing loss; hard of hearing and deafness which is severe hearing. Law enforcement officers experience difficulties when communicating with people who have hearing difficulties. It is also not easy for police officers to differentiate people with hard of hearing from those who are totally deaf. It is important that the police officers understand these people and know how to handle them in order to avoid situations that are not pleasing. For instance, the police should be aware that flashlight interferes with their ability to see and hear. When communicating with deaf people, it is important to face them because they read lips and the person communicating with them should avoid chewing and speaking faster. It is recommended to use facial expression, gestures and writing the message on paper for them to read. The following steps should be applied when dealing with this group of people: withhold judgment, assess the level of their deafness, assess the language ability and finally choose a communication method that is more effective. The police, when executing their law enforcement functions, should not involve the relatives of these people but seek the help of professional interpreters to ensure impartiality (Deaf Inc 1).
In my opinion, the police should undergo trainings that will enable them to identify and handle people with hearing difficulties so as to avoid misunderstandings and unpleasant situations when they come across them. The police should also have a special unit department to handle all matters relating to people with hard of hearing or deafness. There is need to create more deafness experts in the police force to carry out continuous training by updating the police officers’ skills when it comes to handling criminal cases in which deaf people are involved. The institutions training interpreters should be properly assessed and accredited to provide high-quality specialists in the area of sign language and interpretation (Deaf Inc 1).
The learning module is related to the course in the sense that it addresses one of the major problems that law enforcement officer experience in the area of criminal law. It shows a clear example of situations that cause communication problems between police officers and suspected criminals making it hard for the two parties to understand each other. |It goes ahead to suggest remedies to apply when such cases occur like facing these people to enable them read lips, talking to them at a slow rate and inviting an interpreter to help pass the intended message (Deaf Inc 1).
Reference
Deaf Inc and St. Louis County Police Academy.(2012, June 8). Deaf Sensitivity Training Video for Police Officers. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l9aNpMRHH2c
