The new service follows a survey carried out with the Birmingham Institute of the Deaf (BID), which showed 98 per cent of hearing impaired people use SMS text messaging, and 85 per cent would like to use the service to contact the police.
Max Corney, IT communications manager, said the existing methods of contacting the police were clearly unsuitable for the deaf, hard-of-hearing and speech impaired, who often encounter obstacles when trying to contact the police or other emergency services.
"We hope that by offering text messaging we can provide a quality service to a large group of people who, in the past, have had real difficulty in making contact with their local police," Corney said in a statement.
The service, available only to people who live in the West Midlands region, is due to go live on Monday 15 July. People who wish to use the new service will have to apply in writing and their details will be placed on a database, stored at the main Force Communications Center.
A number of police forces throughout the country have already shown interest in the new service and it is likely to be expanded to other areas in the future. The new service will be advertised with the help of deaf groups and associations, supported by a video presented by Lara Crooks, deaf presenter of the BBC's See Hear, who is profoundly deaf herself.
The initiative follows an idea submitted to the force's suggestion scheme by Tim Humpherson, an administrative worker in Crime Support, who is deaf.
"This idea is innovative to West Midlands Police," Humpherson said in a statement. "As a deaf person, I recognize the missing link, which is crucial for deaf communities to be able to contact the emergency services. Many deaf people already send and receive text messages extensively on their mobile phones. I hope this idea will be extended to all other police forces across the country as it will be of great benefit to deaf and speech impaired people."
West Midlands Police
