Signing constable wins award

Inspector Gary Davey, Constable Debi Leahy, Rachel Noble (CEO of Deaf Aotearoa) and Debi’s night school NZSL teacher Dorothy Jones Photo: Deaf Aotearoa

Constable Debi Leahy from Henderson won the Public Service Award at the recent Deaf Aotearoa New Zealand Sign Language Week in Action Awards.

Debi says because of the Deaf schools in West Auckland, the area has a large Deaf community and many police have encountered a Deaf person in their work.

“Dealing with Deaf people on the front line made me realise how valuable learning sign language could be in my job,” she says.

Since graduating with a Certificate in New Zealand Sign Language (NZSL) and Deaf Studies (with merits) in 2008, Debi has used her role as Community Constable to improve communication between police and the Deaf public.

Sue Lessing, Community Relations Officer Deaf Aotearoa, is thrilled Debi won the award. “We are so proud of Debi,” she says. “She really deserves the award as she is so involved with the Deaf community. We hope this will inspire more officers to learn NZSL.”