Residents with hearing and sight impairments across the Humberside Police area will directly benefit from a new project, created by East Riding of Yorkshire Council and Community VISION, in association with Hull and East Yorkshire Centre for the Deaf.
A new podcast and BSL (British Sign Language) signed video was launched at a recent event in Beverley to highlight fraud awareness and protection, allowing residents to access information which would otherwise have been unavailable to them.
Both the podcast and video arose from crime prevention events for Neighbourhood Watch co-ordinators, organised by Maureen Yates, a community and crime reduction resilience officer for East Riding of Yorkshire Council, and her colleague Alan Brown.
At their Bridlington event, they met members of the Hull and East Yorkshire Centre for the Deaf, who told them that they felt out of the loop when it came to crime prevention information.
Following a visit to the Centre and a communications survey, which showed that the majority of participants felt sidelined with regard to crime prevention information, it was agreed with Sarah Regan, Residential Manager of Hull and East Yorkshire Centre for the Deaf, and Devan Witter, BOOST Training and Fraud Watch Coordinator, to make a BSL crime prevention video, and then a podcast.
Councillor Leo Hammond, the council’s Cabinet member for planning, communities and public protection, said : “The BSL signed video and the podcast represent an innovative approach to communicating important messages about fraud awareness with some of our residents who have previously struggled to get this information, I hope and believe that both the video and the podcast will prove very useful and helpful.”
Both the podcast and the video look at increasing people’s awareness of potential fraud and how to identify and report fraud, and give tips on minimising the risk of being a victim of fraud. For those who are victims, there is advice on who to contact to report it, and to receive support.
It is hoped that the podcast and video will increase feelings of safety and confidence in recognising and reporting crime.
The podcast was recorded by Great Yorkshire Radio.
The video is available at: https://www.fraudwatch.org.uk/videos-and-resources/
The podcast can be found here: https://podcast.fraudwatch.org.uk/