A Coleg Llandrillo student has helped drive major changes aimed at making North Wales Police and the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner more accessible to the Deaf community.

Paula Williams, from Flint, is currently studying British Sign Language (BSL) Level 4 at Coleg Llandrillo’s Rhos-on-Sea campus and has been praised for helping to break down communication barriers faced by Deaf people across North Wales.

Her efforts have already led to the creation of a new BSL Hub on the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner’s website, including a fully accessible BSL version of the Police and Crime Plan.

Paula said she was inspired to take action after seeing the everyday challenges faced by close friends within the Deaf community.

“I know the daily barriers they have to try and overcome,” she explained.

“Say somebody discovered a dropped purse in the street and wants to take it to the local police station. How are they going to communicate? Not everyone in the Deaf community reads and writes, or lipreads. For some, their first and only language is sign language.

“Passing notes over a counter is such an outdated system. I really want the Deaf community to feel valued, included, and to live an independent life.”

Paula contacted North Wales Police and Crime Commissioner Andy Dunbobbin directly to ask whether more information could be made available through videos interpreted in BSL.

Since then, she has worked with police representatives and accessibility specialists to highlight areas where services could be improved.

“I’ve only been talking to them since October,” Paula said.

“They’ve acted so quickly — I’m amazed and so thankful. They are even going above and beyond things I initially asked for to make a difference and bridge the gap with communication and access.”

Following Paula’s requests, the Office of the PCC partnered with Sign Solutions to introduce accessibility upgrades, with hopes of expanding BSL provision further in the future.

Mr Dunbobbin praised Paula for helping push forward improvements.

“I value the input of members of the public, and sometimes it takes great people like Paula to come to us and ask why we aren’t doing something or tell us that we should offer a different or better service,” he said.

“It’s for all of us involved in public service to rise to the challenge and meet the expectations of residents.

“I hope this is the start of a much-improved provision of opportunity and access for the BSL community in North Wales from my office and the Force.”

Paula said the confidence to speak up came from the support she has received from the Deaf Studies department at Coleg Llandrillo.

“I am so blessed to be taught the majority of my years of study here at Llandrillo College for British Sign Language by David Duller,” she said.

“I have only gotten this far thanks to his expertise, wisdom, encouragement, and especially patience.”

Her tutor David Duller described Paula’s dedication to the Deaf community as “exceptional”.

“Her willingness to give additional time to attend and support Deaf events is truly inspiring,” he added.

Paula is now aiming to complete her Level 6 qualification and become a registered BSL interpreter, with demand for qualified interpreters expected to grow following the introduction of the British Sign Language Bill.

She also hopes her experience will inspire more people to learn sign language.

“Learn a new language which is fun, and get continued support from top-class lecturers,” she said. “I’m glad I did.”