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Nicky's story
The Deaf Prisoners' Project
The way forward
Educating the police
Help and info
Being in prison is no joke for anyone, despite the impression sometimes given in parts of the press. But it's worse if you're deaf, like Nicky in Rush. That doesn't sound fair, but it's true.
Communication problems may mean you're not sure what you're supposed to be doing and when, so you get into trouble. You can't phone anyone, because there's no textphone, and you feel frightened and isolated because there are no visual fire alarms, you've made no friends and you can't explain to the doctor what's wrong if you feel ill.
We talked to a deaf prisoner, Nicky Dunn (no relation to Rush's Nicky!), about what it's like.
'When I first got here I was down and depressed,' Nicky says. 'No one would talk to me ... People talk to each other and I watch them and I try to talk to them, to be friends. But they're not interested. They don't want to know.'
Luckily for Nicky, his hearing brother Richard is also an inmate at the prison. 'When he first got here, there was nobody who could communicate with Nicky,' Richard told VEE-TV. 'People didn't have a clue how – right through from the people on reception to the people on the wing.'
Most prisoners look forward to communicating with their loved ones on the outside, but for Nicky it's difficult. 'He's not able to make telephone calls,' Richard says. 'If he needs to get a message to the outside, I'll do it for him. If I wasn't here, it would be difficult for him to do. Maybe an officer would do it for him, but if it was a personal thing – there are a few personal things in prison – that would be difficult for him as well.'
Heather Gerrard works for the Birmingham Institute for the Deaf (BID) on its Deaf Prisoners Project, which is also sponsored by the British Deaf Association and the West Midlands Probation Service. The project interviewed 36 deaf prisoners in jails in England and Wales.
'When we met a lot of deaf prisoners, we found that they were isolated,' Heather says. 'They don't have communication with prison officers or access to education, rehabilitation or training, and few are allowed to work.'
The BID report found 'a catalogue of appalling abuses suffered by deaf prisoners: from bullying and isolation to inadequate medical treatment and unfair denials of parole'.
One deaf prisoner interviewed for the project explained why his application for parole was turned down: 'I was not granted parole as the board said I had not been on any training courses and therefore was classed as not wanting to change. I tried to explain through an unsuitable interpreter that I wanted to go on training courses, but there were no provisions for me to access them. This resulted in me having to serve a full prison sentence.'
Communication can also be a major problem on a day-to-day basis. 'Prison officers should be aware of who is in their wing, especially a deaf person,' another deaf prisoner told the project. 'I cannot remember the amount of times I have missed gym, education, medical services and hot-water time.'
The BDA is calling for urgent changes, such as the provision of textphones and sign-language interpreters. It also advocates deaf- awareness training for governors, prison officers and probation workers. And the Deaf Prisoners Project aims to recruit and train a team of deaf volunteers to help prisoners with communication. But what about having a special deaf prison, so that communication problems wouldn't arise?
Steve Turner, the governor of Nicky's prison, Woodhill, rejects the idea. 'I totally disagree with that,' he told VEE-TV. 'He wants to be treated the same as anybody else.' Jo Barber, a spokeswoman for the BDA, points out that any benefit from special facilities needs to be weighed against the benefits of keeping deaf prisoners near their friends and families. 'There may be a case for prison facilities which can cater for deaf prisoners,' she told us, 'but this would need to be balanced with deaf prisoners being within travelling distance for visitors. Visitors are often a deaf prisoner's only link with the outside world.'
The Deaf Prisoners Project report suggests that deaf prisoners are serving a 'double sentence' because of the lack of facilities. Again, Steve Turner disagrees: 'I don't think he serves a double sentence. He serves his sentence with some difficulty, but we've got very good staff here who have made life a lot easier for Nicky and are aware of his problems and are working for him.'
Nicky's brother Richard agrees that Nicky's life at Woodhill has improved. 'A lot of the problems Nicky had when he first came here are being addressed,' he says, 'and it's easier for him now than it was. It's almost par with a normal inmate for him because of the facilities that are being provided.'
But the problem isn't only limited to prisons. The BID is also worried about other aspects of the legal process, including the difficulties deaf people have in communicating with the police.
We spoke to Colin Singh and Jude Mahon, who were arrested during the BSL march in Wolverhampton for blocking the road. Jude is hearing and was allowed to stay upstairs at the police station and talk to the officers, while the other deaf people were put in separate cells downstairs because the police couldn't communicate with them.
'They should have a few police officers who can sign fluently,' Jude
says.
'The police service should pay for the police to learn.'
If you've had a run-in with the law, know a deaf prisoner or just have something to say on the subject, get it off your chest and onto our message board now.
Organisations
BID Services for Deaf People – Prison Project
Ladywood Road
Birmingham B16 8SZ
Voice: 0121 246 6100
Fax: 0121 246 6125
Text: 0121 246 6101
Videophone: 0121 456 1535
E-mail: enquiry@bid.org.uk
Website: www.bid.org.uk
BID (Birmingham Institute for the Deaf) works to support the Deaf community
in the West Midlands. One of its services is a support network for deaf
people in prison, to recruit and train suitable volunteers to visit and
advocate on prisoners' behalf.
British Deaf Association (BDA)
1-3 Worship Street
London EC2A 2AB
Voice/text: 020 7588 3520
Fax: 020 7588 3527
E-mail: helpline@bda.org.uk
Website: www.bda.org.uk
Run by and for deaf people to ensure those using sign language have the
same rights and entitlement as other citizens.
British Deaf Association Health and Counselling Services
9 Springfield Street
Warrington
Cheshire WA1 1BB
Voice: 01925 652520 (10am-4pm daily)
Text: 01925 652529 (10am-4pm daily and Wednesday 7-10pm)
Fax: 01925 652526
E-mail: counselling@bda.org.uk
Website: www.britishdeafassociation.org.uk
General advisory helpline for information, advice and guidance.
Disability Rights Commission
DRC Helpline
Freepost MID 02164
Stratford-upon-Avon CV37 9BR
Text: 08457 622 644
Fax: 08457 778 644
E-mail: ddahelp@stra.sitel.co.uk
Website: www.drc.org.uk
Federation of Deaf People
PO Box 11
Darwen
Lancs BB3 3GH
Fax: 01254 708071
E-mail: contact@fdp.org.uk
Website: www.fdp.org.uk
Campaigns for the rights of deaf people.
Law Centres Federation
18-19 Warren Street
London W1T 5LR
Voice: 020 7387 8570
Fax: 020 7387 8368
E-mail: info@lawcentres.org.uk
Website: www.lawcentres.org.uk
Law Centres provide free legal advice and representation. You can find
your nearest representative with an interpreter via the website.
Royal Association for Deaf People (RAD)
Head Office
Walsingham Road
Colchester
Essex CO2 7BP
Voice: 01206 509509
Text: 01206 577090
Videophone: 01206 710064
Fax: 01206 769755
E-mail: info@royaldeaf.org.uk
Website: www.royaldeaf.org.uk
Offers interpreting services, deaf centres, deaf clubs, and advice.
Royal National Institute for Deaf People (RNID)
19-23 Featherstone Street
London EC1Y 8SL
Tel: 020 7296 8000
Information line: 0808 808 0123 (Mondays to Fridays 9am-5pm) Text: 0808
808 9000 (Mondays to Fridays 9am-5pm)
Fax: 020 7296 8199
E-mail: informationline@rnid.org.uk
Website: www.rnid.org.uk
Offers confidential and impartial information on a range of subjects including
the Disability Discrimination Act.
Websites
Deaf Activists' Court Case Dropped!
www.johnnypops.demon.co.uk/poetry/articles/bsl/index.htm
Article about the six deaf activists who were arrested at a protest
in Wolverhampton. The full trial was preceded by several months of pre-trial
hearings with no BSL interpreters.
Deaf Prisoners
www.royaldeaf.org.uk/prison.htm
Article on the RAD website on how many deaf people suffer
discrimination against them in prison – including longer sentences.
Federation of Prison Families Support Groups
www.fpfsg.org.uk
The federation exists to encourage and promote the development of
a nationwide network of support services for prisoners' families. This
website includes details of groups and how to join.
Partners of Prisoners
www.partnersofprisoners.co.uk
Information about the prison system and support available for families
in the community.
Prison Reform Trust
www.prisonreformtrust.org.uk
Information about prisons and the work of the trust, which aims to
create 'a just, humane and effective' penal system. Also contains a good
directory of links to related sites.
Prisoners' Educational Trust
www.prisonerseducation.org
Details of the work and services of the trust, which aims to extend
the range of academic and vocational education available in prisons.
Graphic version
Includes layout and images.