The new system will give deaf, hearing impaired and speech impaired people the facility to report emergency situations, either as a victim or a witness, and get the relevant help from the police without having to rely on someone else to contact 999 for them.

A national 999 text messaging service for deaf, hearing impaired and speech impaired people is currently in the planning stages, but it is expected to be some years before it comes into service. Rather than wait for this, the Leeds Society for Deaf and Blind People, which provides social work services with deaf people on behalf of Leeds City Council Social Services, worked in partnership with West Yorkshire Police to set up the region’s own system. Hampshire Police was also consulted as one of the forces that already has an established SMS text service.

Robert Edmunds, Communications Supervisor in the Force’s Communications Division, has pushed forward the introduction of the system together with Chris Bojas, a Social Worker from Leeds Society for Deaf and Blind People. Mr Bojas made the first approach by contacting Mr Edmunds after he saw a similar service running in other counties.

Mr Edmunds said: “For the first time within West Yorkshire, members of the public who are deaf, hearing impaired or speech impaired and have access to a mobile phone will be able to report emergency 999 situations which involve themselves or others. They will have the facility to have a two-way conversation via SMS text message to pass information and get the necessary response from the police.

“The introduction of this facility will help to address the needs of deaf, hearing impaired and speech impaired people in the community, and demonstrates our commitment to providing the best service possible to all of our customers.”

Mr Bojas added, “I am very excited by this new service, which will enable deaf, hearing impaired and speech impaired people to gain equal access and become more independent. I am looking forward to our partnership with West Yorkshire Police, and am gratified that the deaf, hearing impaired and speech impaired communities can now take control of their own security without reliance on a third party.

“We are setting new standards for good practice early in the project by making this new service information as accessible as possible for these communities to ensure the wellbeing of people of all ages, including children. As well as having an information leaflet on how to use the service, we also have a DVD with details provided in British Sign Language and subtitles for the hard of hearing community.”

Under the new system, which goes lives on Thursday, 11 August, 2005, deaf, hearing impaired or speech impaired people will be able to contact 999 in an emergency situation by sending a mobile phone text message to 07786 200200.

That message goes to communications firm Dialogue Communications Ltd, where it is converted into an e-mail that is forwarded to West Yorkshire Police’s Force Communications Centre in Wakefield. The caller should receive a text acknowledgement within about 20 seconds to say their text has been passed to the police.

When the e-mail arrives in the police communications centre, an audible alarm sounds to alert the communications supervisor who can respond immediately. The supervisor can then reply with any relevant questions to assess the situation and offer the relevant police response.

A very important proviso is that the text 999 service cannot offer an instant response, as the mobile phone companies do not prioritise text messages. There may be a delay in a message reaching the police depending on the demands on the mobile phone networks. Potential users of the new system are being advised that if they have not had a response to their text within two minutes, they should try again or seek alternative means of contacting 999.

It is also important to highlight that this service only applies if the emergency occurs within West Yorkshire and is solely for deaf, hearing impaired and speech impaired people and not general 999 callers.

From West Yorkshire Police website