To mark 2025 Deaf Awareness Week (5th-11th May), DPA Secretary Kathie Buffery writes about her experiences as a deaf person, and shares her thoughts on effective communication with the d/Deaf community
The theme of 2025 Deaf Awareness Week theme is ‘beyond silence’. This year, we are focusing on breaking down the barriers to full accessibility for those with hearing loss, and celebrating how diversely deaf people communicate, whether through lip reading, BSL or with an assistive device.
Life as a person with a hearing loss can be scary. Let me explain.
Tips on how to be more deaf aware (click to enlarge)
For those who don’t know me, I’m Kathie – a nearly 50 year old deaf and neurodivergent parent. I have a profound hearing loss: having been diagnosed as having a severe hearing loss when I was 23, my hearing has gradually deteriorated, bringing me to be diagnosed as having a profound loss nine years ago. I knew I was losing more of my hearing, but sitting in the audiology exam room, having what is the equivalent of a functional hearing test and not being able to hear one set of voices at all – and being told at the end of it I was profoundly deaf – was devastating, even though I knew already.
If you listened to me, you wouldn’t realise that I am deaf – apart from a few subtle differences in the way I talk – unless you were a speech therapist.
Communicating with me or any d/Deaf person is simple:
Speak clearly, don’t shout or over-enunciate your words (this may get you a funny look from me) as it doesn’t help at all. (Think the movie ‘Hear no Evil, See no Evil’.)
Make sure the lighting in the room is sufficient. If the light is behind, you all I will see is a shadow.
Face me – I honestly can’t hear you if you don’t.
Try not to cover your mouth, it’s a habit for some.
Make sure you have my attention – this can be by coming into my sight or tapping me to get my attention. If I don’t know you are talking to me, I won’t be able to listen.
This is just me personally, but these tips tend to be able to be used with friends, family, colleagues or members of the public.
One thing that I get a lot especially when I don’t hear someone, is “Oh, it doesn’t matter”. It does matter. When you do this, it excludes people from the conversation and makes them feel even more isolated than they already are.
In social situations I struggle to hear people especially when a lot of people are talking or there is a lot of background noise. I can only focus on one person at a time and its exhausting. I rely on my friends and partner for help to understand conversations, so when you say, “It doesn’t matter”, it does – it matters to me.
Living with a hearing loss means I don’t hear cars, trains, my own child crying or fire alarms. I am constantly on my guard. At work I struggle in meetings, video calls can be a struggle. Simply having lunch in a loud room can be hard.
Communicating with someone with a hearing loss just needs a few simple things to make us included, but please remember to ask the person what they need – every person with a hearing loss is unique and will have different needs. ∎
by Andrea Shoetan President | Disabled Police Association
The past 12 months have been a busy one for the DPA Committee, and we have seen some change. Tracy Betts stood down in December as DPA President and I was voted in as interim President. I am very grateful to be voted in at this year’s AGM as substantive President so that I can really start on the work I promised in my application. My sincere thanks to Tracy for all her hard work and support over her time as President.
The DPA has published the results of the first ever hearing survey. Co-author Kathie Buffery and I have been busy working on the recommendations from the survey at a national level. Hearing loss is now on the NPCC risk register due to this work. We are working with Jon Harrison, Chief Medical Officer and Paul Taylor, Chief Scientific Advisor to ensure our recommendations are addressed at a national level rather than individually by Forces.
The first Disability in Policing Survey was launched this year by Anjali Howard, working with the University of Portsmouth. I look forward to seeing the results and using them to make change for the better. These will feed all our workstreams this year.
Feedback following last year’s conference was positive. We responded to previous feedback, providing breakout rooms so delegates could choose between three rooms to make the inputs more personal and specific. We had attendance from every police force in the UK, which we think is a first! One thing we would like at this year’s conference is higher attendance by Chief Officers not directly connected to national disability work. I feel this goes a long way to show support of disabled officers and staff at the highest level.
The Danish Police attended our conference and asked Tracy to write an article for their national magazine on neurodivergence within policing in the UK. It is positive to work together with other countries to share our experiences, and learning goes both ways.
I have recently joined the International Police Association (IPA) for this very reason. After 19 years in policing, I had not heard of the IPA until I called into a Women of Colour in Policing (WoCiP) webinar. I was then asked by the Swedish President of the IPA to complete a 3-part interview with her as part of their #SheisIPA campaign to encourage women into the IPA as they are underrepresented. They were very keen to learn about my personal journey of disability within policing, and my national work as President of the DPA. I have since met with the UK IPA leads and look forward to working together to raise awareness.
I will be asking the Policing Minister (meeting end of April), Home Secretary, Chief Constables, Commissioners, PCCs, Major’s, NPCC, Unison, Federation and College of Policing to sign a new Pledge that they will support their officers and staff to share their disability and offer them support. I also hope this will encourage more senior leaders within policing to share their disability, as we recognise there are few that have – such openness speaks volumes to all staff and officers who may follow.
I continue to work closely with NPCC Lead for Disability, Derbyshire Constabulary Assistant Chief Officer Andrew Price. I am pleased to announce that ACO Price has set up a brand new NPCC Disability Portfolio Working Group (previously Workplace Adjustments Working Group), with the first meeting being held this month. We will use this working group to track how Forces are embedding the DPA’s Pledge and to address any barriers they face. I will ensure that a brand-new national Disability in Policing strategy is created as a key aim of this group.
The Freedom of Information requests to police forces have been received and are being analysed by previous President Tracy Betts, who has kindly offered to complete this strand of work started during her tenure. These requests concerned information on employment tribunals, grievances, and reasonable adjustments. Results are so far as expected – it is not only the Metropolitan Police that shows disability discrimination is by far the highest reason for employment tribunals. This has increased since the Casey Report. Nationally we need Forces to recognise the significant risk this poses and the work that needs to be done to improve this. Part of this work is ensuring that disability is spoken about, part of any conversation on ethics, reasonable adjustments are not a ‘nice to have’ but a ‘MUST have’.
I am starting to see a trend of some Forces making staff in equality, diversity, and inclusion teams redundant. This is surely counterproductive when the cost of employment tribunals runs to hundreds of thousands of pounds in each Force. The cost of staffing these roles would more than pay for itself if it reduced the number of legal challenges under the Equality Act. Likewise, policing now has an inexperienced workforce, but officers and staff with disabilities often have vast knowledge and experience. This invaluable asset can be retained and utilised by individuals being placed in roles they can excel in, rather than being left to struggle or leave policing completely. These measures would save the police service a large sum of money in the long term.
I look forward to seeing you all at this year’s conference so save the date! Monday 29th and Tuesday 30th September 2025 at the East Midlands Airport Hotel. The theme of this year’s conference will be: valuing experience and diverse abilities in UK policing to reduce disability discrimination.
The following points will be covered:
Law – The Equalities Act, Public Sector Duty are LAW, not ‘nice to haves’. How can Forces provide reasonable/workplace adjustments in a timely manner?
Real life experiences from people within Forces
Estates – how we can ensure that working environments allow staff to thrive rather than hinder them by their design
Employment Tribunals – ‘disability’ is a word that is rarely used, yet it is the highest reason for discrimination within Forces. We must track the learning, talk about it, and improve.
Thank you for your support – I look forward to working with you. ∎
In the following extract from an article appearing in the February 2025 edition of Danish police magazine Dansk Politi, former DPA President Tracy Betts talks about the work of the DPA and the value that disabled and neurodivergent staff bring to policing
In the UK police service, they are far ahead in including both employees who have suffered mental or physical health problems in service, as well as employees with neurodivergent brains. This is largely due to a comprehensive equality law and significant efforts from the voluntary association Disabled Police Association (DPA).
“It’s not disability, that’s the problem. It’s the obstacles we put up that block us from getting the best out of everyone”, says Tracy Betts, former president of DPA.
They are not there yet, but they are well on their way. In most places in the UK police service, there is a targeted effort to include employees with physical and mental disabilities – including neurodivergence. A rough estimate is that about 40 percent of employees in the police force in the UK are neurodivergent. However, not everyone is necessarily aware of it or has a formal diagnosis.
Inspector Tracy Betts
This is the estimate from the Disabled Police Association. The Association offers networks and support to police officers and civilian employees in the police force who have suffered mental or physical health problems in service, or who have neurodivergent brains and diagnoses such as ADHD, autism, or dyslexia.
“Neurodivergent people are attracted to the police service. I think it’s because they often have a strong sense of right and wrong. They have a very strong moral compass, and the police force has a code of conduct that neurodivergent people probably find very attractive, whether they are aware of it or not”, says Tracy Betts.
She has been president of DPA for two years but stepped down at the turn of the year. Additionally, she is a Detective Inspector in Essex Police, and as an adult, she was diagnosed with dyslexia and autism.
Talent must be supported Tracy joined the police service over 30 years ago. Back then, it would have been a problem for her to be accepted if she had been diagnosed. But that’s no longer the case. An Equality Act ensures that no one in the public sector can be excluded in advance.
Of course, you must be able to do the job as a police officer, but those who are rejected, whether they are neurotypical or neurodivergent, should be rejected because they are not talented enough or do not have the qualities the job requires. It should never be their diagnosis alone, that is the obstacle. In other words, we must ensure that we do not lose talent by putting unnecessary barriers in the way of, for example, neurodivergent people.
Tracy herself failed one promotion exam after another, and couldn’t understand why, as she didn’t consider herself a poor reader or unintelligent. Eventually, she got tested for dyslexia and found out she has a form of dyscalculia. She was granted more time for her exams, passed them all, and was promoted.
“Basically, it’s about accommodating the different needs that employees may have to get the best out of them. There must naturally be a reasonable balance, but it’s about removing unnecessary obstacles”, says Tracy.
Focus on safety and the whole person Tracy points out that a prerequisite for colleagues and management to consider and accommodate people’s needs is, of course, that they know them. And here it is essential that a strong psychological safety is built up in the workplace, as it is very vulnerable to talk about one’s authentic self.
Not everywhere in the UK police service has reached this goal. But in places where the top management has taken the lead and shown a real commitment to diversity and inclusion, trust and safety flourish.
For example, in Tracy’s own police force, Essex Police, they work with a concept called a ‘wellbeing passport’. When an employee gets a new position or role, they are invited to a conversation with their new immediate supervisor – regardless of whether there is a disability involved or not.
Together, they go through a series of questions about wellbeing, and you as an individual – not just as a police officer or civilian employee. Here, they talk about all aspects: Are you a parent, are you going through menopause, are you transitioning, are you neurodivergent, are you in the middle of a divorce? What does a good day look like for you, when do you have a hard time, and what does it take to turn a bad day into a good one? Tracy continues:
“It is voluntary to participate in these conversations, but it is an effective tool to build trust and for the leader to be able to accommodate employees’ individual needs. Often, it takes few and completely free measures. And most importantly, the ‘wellbeing passport’ focuses on the whole person. In the police force, we tend to dehumanise employees. Instead, we need to rehumanise and make people feel seen as individuals.”
Clear business case The DPA also likes to argue with numbers – if the social and well-being arguments are not enough to convince police management – that a diverse and inclusive workplace is a thriving workplace with productive employees.
It is simply a good business case to include disabled and neurodivergent people in the police force. The DPA has documented through access to court judgments that it costs the police many millions of pounds a year in compensation to these groups, due to lawsuits filed if they have been discriminated against. These are numbers that are listened to, and with Generation X and Z, there will not be fewer of these cases, as they are more aware of their rights, predicts Tracy.
She is also completely convinced that the police service in the UK will include even more neurodivergent employees in the future:
“We are constantly moving forward a little bit. Because we have an increasing number of diagnoses of ADHD and autism in the general population, especially among adults, it is important that citizens see themselves reflected in their police service. This will contribute to increased trust and safety in policing, which unfortunately has not been very good in recent years.”
About the Disabled Police Association
The DPA is a voluntary organisation that offers networks and support to police officers and civilian employees who have suffered mental or physical health problems in service, or who have neurodivergent brains.
The DPA is represented in all 43 police forces in England and Wales, as well as in the Police Service of Northern Ireland and Police Scotland, and in some smaller forces like Civil Nuclear Constabulary.
The DPA works to promote equal opportunities for everyone in the police service, and has over 30,000 members.
The DPA’s work is based on the English Equality Act of 2010, which has a broad definition of disabilities and helps ensure equality and equal opportunities for everyone.
Research underway The DPA is in the process of learning more about the extent and conditions for people with disabilities in the police service in the UK.
In collaboration with two English universities, they have sent out an anonymous questionnaire to all police officers and civilian employees in the police service in England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland. The aim is to get a precise and strong database that can form the basis for research and more evidence-based knowledge in the area. This can facilitate positive transformations.
“In April, we expect to be able to look at the early results from the survey, and we are extremely happy and proud that the National Police Chiefs Council and College of Policing want our data to be able to move forward and change things on a national level”, says Tracy. ∎
This article was machine translated from the original piece in Danish and has been edited for readability. A translation of the main article can be found on the National Police Autism Association website.
