June 21, 2011 11.38 am This story is over 153 months old

Police pledge to support learning difficulties

Helping hand: Police are trying to gain abetter understanding of learning difficulties so they can support more residents.

Senior police officers from across the county have signed a pledge to support the needs of those with learning difficulties.

The pledge is called the Stand By Me Police Promise and was written in association with Mencap.

The pledge is ten promises, which include understanding how to identify if someone has a learning disability, challenging any discriminatory attitudes among officers and recognising that disability hate crime is as serious as other hate crimes.

Diversity Engagement Officer PCSO Zaza Warren says the pledge is to “make sure that people with learning disabilities get the same level of service as everyone else in the community”.

Warren added: “That means our officers recognise when someone has a learning disability and understanding how to communicate effectively with that person.

“It also means making sure that people with learning disabilities are familiar with our officers and our police stations and that they feel comfortable talking to our staff in terms of reporting crime and antisocial behaviour.”

To help police fulfil their pledge, they will talk to people with learning disabilities and their family, friends and carers as well as get advice on how to recognise and report hate crime.

Source: Lincolnshire Police | Photo: Dave Pearson