Accessibility of Contact

Hampshire Constabulary recognises that offering the public a variety of ways to make contact with us is an important factor in being approachable and maximising engagement and inclusion in all communities. We understand there are differing expectations, needs and requirements of individuals and communities and we will continue to work to enhance our accessibility.  Our varying contact options are as follows:

Telephone

Voice call options

999 – Emergency calls

101 or Direct Dial 01962 841534 – Non-emergency, report crimes, anti-social behaviour, general enquiries and the Switchboard

Disabled, speech impaired, deaf, hard of hearing and deafblind callers

Hearing impaired and speech impairments callers have various ways of contacting the police.

Text Relay (also known as Typetalk)

The national telephone relay service operated by BT for deaf, hard of hearing, deafblind and speech-impaired people. It provides a link between any textphone (Minicom) user and a hearing person. The link is a highly trained Text Relay Operator (TRO) who provides a discreet and confidential service.  The textphone is a specially adapted telephone with a keyboard.

Emergency SMS to the police (80999)

This service is to enable a hearing or speech impaired caller, in an emergency situation, to text for assistance from their mobile.  Hampshire Constabulary was the first force to introduce a speedtext short code number to allow access by mobile text message receiving calls for police, fire and rescue, ambulance and coastguard. In 2008, we expanded the service to cover the South West of England passing details to relevant emergency services.  The experiences in Hampshire have been used to inform the national emergency sms service (eSMS) and a member of the constabulary sits on the National Steering Group.  eSMS is now working and, in due course, will replace 80999.

eSMS

National emergency SMS service (text 999) allows registered users to text the emergency services via the Text Relay operators.  The Relay Operators verbalise the text messages to emergency control rooms and respond by text message to ‘callers’ as required.  Hampshire Constabulary supports this new service with information in a British Sign Language video on the web pages.

Non-emergency contact with Police (07781 480999)

Textphone users can send a message to the police.  Messages are received in the form of an email into a dedicated mailbox and any subsequent responses that are sent to an individual will be converted from email to text message.  This service is only being promoted within the deaf/hard of hearing community.

Police 24 hour Minicom - 02380 745500 (Utilised 45 times in 2011)

Police 24 hour Fax - 01962 874201

It is recognised that some older Deaf people rely on fax machines to communicate rather than through email or mobile text message.  The 24 hour Fax number provides access for such people and is promoted within the deaf/hard of hearing community

PLOD

Police Link Officers for Deaf people promote equality of access to the police for deaf, deafblind, deafened and hard of hearing people. This service provides officers with deaf awareness and sign language skills as a point of contact for deaf people.  This role is in addition to the officers’ normal duties. We have 25 officers with a minimum level 1 British Sign Language, several studying at NVQ Level 2 and Level 3 and one officer who holds the Postgraduate Diploma in British Sign Language / English interpreting.  We will be increasing the number of PLOD officers in 2012.

During the past 12 years the PLOD team members have provided a response to numerous incidents where Deaf people have been victims, witnesses or offenders.  Examples of the type of incidents include assisting in custody whilst awaiting the arrival of an independent qualified interpreter, communication support at a double fatal road traffic incident with four Deaf witnesses, prosecution and arrest processes, supporting a Deaf man and his Deafblind wife following a burglary, dealing with a Deaf run-away teenager, supporting a Deaf woman through Coroner’s Court following the sudden death of her son, visiting schools with Deaf Units / Hearing Impaired Units to provide access to the police and encourage engagement, involvement with the Deaf Youth Club and Summer Play scheme, and providing Family Liaison Officer support to Deaf parents following a fatal road traffic incident.

Project work is currently underway with the Metropolitan Police to develop an interactive video tool for initial contact with Sign Language Users in Police Station front offices and Custody Centres which should see improved access over the coming months.

Domestic violence victims

Victims of domestic abuse can use a specially adapted mobile phone (supplied by the police). This is known as a TecSOS phone and provides a direct line to the police. The details of the callers are already pre-programmed into our telephony system and the caller only needs to press one button on the phone to get immediate contact with us.

LGBT Community

We have a Lesbian & Gay Liaison Officer (LAGLO) on each shift working within the Force Enquiry Centre and the Force Control Room who can speak with the public direct or answer any questions relating to LGBT matters or concerns. There are numerous other LAGLO officers and staff around the force who can be called upon for advice or guidance at any time.

Languages

We have a facility called Language Line. This service is available to assist when there is a language barrier. Language Line enables a three-way phone conversation to take place via an interpreter and they can cater for approximately 170 different languages or dialects. From 01/04/2010 to 31/03/2011 Language Line was used 3,910 times by Hampshire Constabulary staff. www.languageline.co.uk

Face to Face contact

Police Stations

From April 2012 there will be 16 police stations open where there is a Station Enquiry Officer (SEO) on duty during key times for those wishing to speak to someone face to face. All police stations open to the public are accessible for disabled people and have appropriate facilities provided i.e. low desk and minicom phones. Some SEOs are trained in sign language.

Scheduling

This is where residents are offered an appointment service when they want to see a police officer at a time and location that is convenient for the public. This is for non-urgent incidents that do not require immediate attendance; this customer focused service is particularly helpful for those people who need more time and assistance to report an incident.

Mobile Data

Mobile Data technology allows the police to take all our desk top applications to the customer and removes barriers from staff and customers alike.  This technology has enabled officers, staff and the public with disabilities, to complete tasks they couldn’t previously have completed without mobile data. We are introducing electronic witness statements which have the technological ability to assist with disability issues in relation to font size, background colours etc.  We are in consultation with Renard Associates and also our own specialist staff who are giving appropriate advice regarding disabilities. We have introduced a customer survey for any member of the public who is attended by an officer with mobile data equipment to complete at the time. This will enable us to efficiently gather live time feedback regarding the service we deliver.

See also PLOD, LAGLOs and Language Line

Online options

Internet and email

You can send an E-mail to postmaster@hampshire.pnn.police.uk or you can go to the Hampshire Constabulary website, www.hampshire.police.uk , to obtain information, crime prevention advice, send an email to your neighbourhood team or  complete a ‘Message for Officer form’ if you would like to get a message to a specific officer. The internet site also has some introductory videos in British Sign Language.  It is anticipated that the number of videos and range of such information will increase in 2012 working with a volunteer who is a Deaf Sign Language User.

Current Website

The current Hampshire Constabulary website was designed to validate against level AA of the W3C Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 1.0, plus take into account the Disability Discrimination Act, which was in place at the time of the site’s creation. We provide access keys and skip to content links for those using screenreader technologies. As best practice, we encourage all content editors to add 'alt' tags to images where appropriate, plus avoid terms such as 'click here' for hyperlinks or buttons. This aids those using screenreader technologies.

For low-vision users, we developed a low graphic, large text and high contrast version of our site, which is available from every page. To aid visibility, all content on our website is styled using style sheets and is scalable, so that if you choose 'larger text' from the browser view options, all the text will scale appropriately.  

Our accessibility statement is available on our website here: http://www.hampshire.police.uk/Internet/accessibility.htm

The site home page features a guide to living and working in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, written in Polish:  http://www.hampshire.police.uk/Internet/advice/A+guide+to+living+and+working+in+Hampshire+and+the+Isle+of+Wight.htm

Primary messages such as how to contact us in an emergency are available as captioned British sign-language videos: http://www.hampshire.police.uk/Internet/advice/BSL_videos.htm

New Website

Due to be launched towards the end of February 2012, this website is being designed to validate against level AA of the W3C Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0, plus take into account the requirements of the Equality Act.

The accessibility options that our current website features will be carried forward onto the new site. In addition, the new site will allow users to change the background and foreground colours, which aids those with dyslexia and visual impairments. Google Translate will be available on all pages, to offer people the option of translating information into alternative languages. Information will be written in ‘plain English’, meaning that jargon will be avoided wherever possible. Making information clear and easy to understand benefits everyone, but especially the elderly or perhaps those where English is not their first language.

If members of the public type their postcode into the home page, their SNT contact information, upcoming events and more will be displayed (as is found on the current website, but on the new site this will be ‘fed’ by SafetyNet automatically, which ensures the information is as up to date as possible).

The new website will allow members of the public to report certain crimes online. In a later delivery phase, we’ll be introducing a ‘track my crime’ feature, meaning that members of the public will be able to view updates relating to their crime online in a secure environment. Additional accessibility features to be introduced in a later delivery phase include functionality that will read the web page aloud if desired. We’re going to be working with the Digital Accessibility Centre, who are going to test our new website using a range of assistive technologies in order to ensure that we’re meeting accessibility requirements.

Social Media

This is a Corporate Communications option through which Hampshire Constabulary can flag up real time issues and get information out quickly to the public who follow our updates on Facebook and Twitter (the two sites we currently use the most, although we can use other networks if needed).  This public channel of communication gives the public an opportunity to ask questions and obtain answers from Hampshire Police with openness and transparency affording an environment for fostering improved relations between us and all communities. Social media also gives communities a way to openly discuss issues among themselves, improving understanding and relations, breaking down barriers through transparency.

Currently we don’t allow crime reports through social media, but anything that is reported via Facebook or Twitter that needs recording is always correctly signposted for appropriate action. As well as reactive information and witness appeals, we use social media for promoting campaigns i.e. Disability Hate crime, Independent Advisory Groups (IAG) Lesbian & Gay Liaison Officer (LAGLO) external campaign for improved public awareness and understanding of what services are provided. The Corporate Communications team monitor Facebook and Twitter during office hours to answer any live time questions, queries or concerns from the public and to use it proactively. Throughout January 2012 the Force Enquiry Centre (FEC) staff are being trained to take on this responsibility and to monitor and respond it out of office hours.

CrimeReports

Members of the public can access www.CrimeReports.co.uk to view reported crimes and incidents in any area of Hampshire and the Isle of Wight. The incident number enables them to easily link to Crime Stoppers to submit information on any particular incident. Crime Reports also displays information taken from SafetyNet, our partnership system, about police and partners’ community activities and engagements being undertaking to make communities safer. Users can choose to have all this information delivered to them automatically in a daily, weekly or monthly email.

Your Voice Counts

This on-line and postal system enables people to give feedback to Hampshire Constabulary on any aspect of policing or its employees. This can be anonymous and allows for feedback to be recorded, good relations and lessons learnt either for individuals or as an organisation where appropriate.

Improving relationships and engagement

Communication strategy

When planning any communications campaign we conduct an audience analysis which identifies which channels of communication would be most appropriate to reach the intended audience or community i.e. Radio, face to face, local newspapers, and social media. We use analysis and data such as that from MOSAIC to assist with this.

Training & Call Management Awareness

The Call Management Department trains its staff to a high level in communication skills when dealing with all members of the public. All staff receive fairness and equality training, which discusses the protected characteristics of the Equality Act. In addition, Call Management staff also complete ongoing comprehensive workbooks in the areas of domestic abuse, mental health, vulnerable callers and risk assessment which includes a mandatory knowledge check.

Disability Road shows

To assist with breaking down barriers, encouraging disabled people to come forward, trust us and feel confident to report hate crime we have embarked on a series of disability road shows with partner agencies which form part of our strategic plan. The road shows have made the police more accessible to the disabled community, as well as helping to increase awareness internally among staff and have led to further initiatives.

Safer Neighbourhoods Team (SNT) Community Engagement

Each SNT has locally advertised opportunities where a member of the SNT makes themselves available within the community to speak about any matter on an individual or group basis. The community get to know when and where these are held i.e. first Tuesday of every month in the library. We have increased accessibility to individuals and communities through a high SNT presence using foot and cycle patrols and bespoke community engagements specific to individuals areas and requirements i.e. mosques, mental health clinics. Every school, further and higher education establishment has links with SNTs through identified police community support officers (PCSO) or police officers. There is local engagement with youth parliaments and councils.

Socio-economic engagement issues are included in the planning for neighbourhood operating bases and engagement sites i.e. Southampton is prioritising Millbrook as an area for a new SNT base. There is widespread local involvement in a variety of partnership and community groups tackling accessibility and services for members of protected groups i.e. PRENO (Portsmouth Race Equality Network) and Learning Disability Partnership in Southampton.

Neighbourhood/District Engagement Plans

Engagement plans allow the Constabulary to inform communities of the work the police and partner agencies are doing in their neighbourhood to address crime, anti-social behaviour issues and deal with local problems. The local plans contain information about how, when and where local officers can be contacted and how residents can influence local policing activity together with results that have been achieved. We are moving away from a partnership approach that sees communities and residents as the largest but most silent partner to embrace principles of accountability that allow the public to become actively involved in making their communities safer together. Importantly, this means ensuring that our engagement provides opportunities for all individuals and communities and in particular those residents who for whatever reason are unable, or find it harder, to access policing services. Please see Neighbourhood and District engagements plans.  35kb

Volunteers

The extended police family is all about strengthening community relations and each of the schemes listed below do this in their own way by encouraging better community cohesion and opening up the police to 'sharing' and working with other communities. Of the 193 regular volunteers, the volunteers profile shows that 10% have declared a disability, 1.5 have described themselves as lesbian/Gay, 4.5 % from a BME background and 1.5 % as Muslim. The volunteers profile is not available at this time for the entire protected characteristics.

We currently have 341 volunteers, 193 regular volunteers & 148 community facing volunteers (i.e. volunteering in the roles of Speed Watch & Student Watch).

There are currently 503 special constables in Hampshire Constabulary.

21 Employer Supported Policing (ESP) schemes are either confirmed or under development; including ESP partnership agreements with Hampshire County Council and Hampshire Fire & Rescue Service.

The Community Safety Accreditation Scheme (CSAS) is made possible through the Police Reform Act 2002 and provides an opportunity for public and private organisations who provide community safety and security functions to have their organisation and staff accredited by Hampshire Constabulary’s Chief Constable.

We also have 83 Independent Advisory Group members which are not counted in the total of volunteers above but who have personal experience or expertise in the protected characteristics areas and who advise the constabulary in their capacity as critical friends.

Future Plans

We are working on plans and ideas around broadening access around digital engagement for the ease and benefit of those who use these means for contacting the Police.

Hate Crime

We are in the process of finalising a film to be available on YouTube, aimed at encouraging people from the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transsexual (LGBT) communities to report hate crime. There are other elements to this which will be available for internal staff awareness to ensure accurate recording and to be included within future staff training. The DVD is also going to be shown on the big screen in Guildhall Square, Portsmouth for LGBT history month in February 2012.  

Youth IAG

We are setting up a Youth Independent Advisory Group (IAG) in 2012 and also the new website will have an area for young people which will provide relevant information and accessibility around reporting issues to us.

Enhanced Access Line

From February 2012 we are launching a new process for anyone with learning difficulties, special needs or any sort of vulnerability that makes using our telephone system too difficult by registering with us for this service through contact with adult services, social services, SNT officers and other agencies. The process will have a Direct Dial number that will go directly into the Force Enquiry Centre and bypass the usual process involving the voice messages, switchboard etc.  The number will be identified as an Enhanced Access Line and the call taker will deliver an appropriate service to the caller to address their needs.

Transgender callers

Although the LAGLOs are trained within this area, further training is been discussed to ensure that all call takers have had suitable training and awareness. This is currently under review with the training department.