Voice, Trust, and New Technologies in Policing. Experiences of Deaf Individuals and Autistic Individuals

• In Event: INTERACT: Investigating New Types of Engagement, Response and Contact Technology in Policing

Abstract

Historically, there has been a reliance on telephonic communication as the primary mode of contacting the police, but this does not necessarily take into account the needs of diverse groups who may need to contact the police. For instance, deaf people whose primary language is BSL have been locked out of this mode of contact (Skinner and Napier, 2022). Whilst autistic individuals are not usually locked out in the same linguistic way, research has indicated that a reliance on telephonic communication can be experienced as disabling for autistic individuals, who may face increased anxiety in telephonic interactions and experience greater risk of being misunderstood (Howard and Sedgewick 2021). New technologies for contacting the police are currently either in trial, or in use, across various police forces (Wells et al., 2022), and signify a move away from the reliance on telephonic communication towards text-based communication (e.g. chat bots) and video-relay services for BSL interpreting. Such developments are often linked with a broader accessibility agenda within policing; however, it is not clear how experiences of procedural justice may be influenced by the imposition of technology within these encounters. Focusing specifically on ‘voice’, this presentation draws on findings from focus groups and interviews with deaf individuals and autistic individuals to explore how police technologies can affect the ability of these individuals to have a say in their interactions with police, and how these experiences come to bear on trust in the police.

Authors

• Estelle Clayton, Edinburgh Napier University

• Robert Skinner, Proximity Interpreting

• Will Andrews, Keele University

• Megan O'Neill, University of Dundee

• Elizabeth Aston, Edinburgh Napier University

• Helen Wells, Keele University

• Ben Bradford, University College London