{"id":61067,"date":"2026-05-06T13:02:45","date_gmt":"2026-05-06T13:02:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/shef-live.co.uk\/?p=61067"},"modified":"2026-05-06T13:54:45","modified_gmt":"2026-05-06T13:54:45","slug":"south-yorkshire-police-announces-new-bsl-sign-language-service","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/shef-live.co.uk\/index.php\/2026\/05\/06\/south-yorkshire-police-announces-new-bsl-sign-language-service\/","title":{"rendered":"South Yorkshire Police announces new BSL sign language service"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A new sign language app is aiming to help South Yorkshire Police break down accessibility barriers by enabling people contact emergency services more easily.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The app, launched on National British Sign Language (BSL) Day on April 28, comes after over a year of development. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

While a BSL service is already available for emergency calls, this service aims to improve accessibility in everyday policing and non-emergency communication.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Louise Corner, account manager responsible for police partnerships at interpreting firm Sorenson, said: \u201cThis new service significantly improves accessibility by allowing deaf BSL users to communicate in their first language – British Sign Language – rather than relying on written English or third-party support.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDeaf customers can now report non-emergency incidents, communicate with officers at a police station, at the scene of an incident, or in any other non-emergency context, creating a more inclusive and equal experience.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The app can be accessed through the South Yorkshire Police website or through the SignVideo app directory. It involves the use of BSL interpreters who can communicate information between d\/Deaf individuals and members of South Yorkshire Police through video services.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chief Constable and Wellbeing Lead for South Yorkshire Police, Lauren Poultney, said: \u201cHere at South Yorkshire Police, we are thrilled to announce the launch of our brand new BSL translation service. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThrough this launch we hope to ensure fast and efficient reporting for members of the d\/Deaf community who use British Sign Language in the South Yorkshire area. Giving them the confidence and resources to communicate with officers when they need to.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

South Yorkshire Police also partnered with Rotherham Deaf Connections group as part of the launch to spread awareness about the new service. Members of the group were tasked with creating posters depicting the app and what it means to them to distribute to the local community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Winning poster by RDC member, Amelia, aged 12<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Kirsty Wild, Chair Person at Rotherham Deaf Connections, said: \u201cBSL speakers often find it difficult to speak to emergency workers due to the language barrier, which can often lead to them feeling isolated and unable to ask for help when it\u2019s needed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis new service will hopefully allow for better communication between the d\/Deaf community and South Yorkshire Police.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A new sign language app is aiming to help South Yorkshire Police break down accessibility barriers by enabling people contact emergency services more easily. The app, launched on National British Sign Language (BSL) Day on April 28, comes after over a year of development. While a BSL service is already available for emergency calls, this […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":322,"featured_media":61187,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[9,8,5],"tags":[12,148],"class_list":["post-61067","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-crime","category-health","category-news","tag-sheffield","tag-south-yorkshire-police"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/shef-live.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61067","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/shef-live.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/shef-live.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shef-live.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/322"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shef-live.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=61067"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/shef-live.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61067\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":61198,"href":"https:\/\/shef-live.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61067\/revisions\/61198"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shef-live.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/61187"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/shef-live.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=61067"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shef-live.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=61067"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shef-live.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=61067"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}