Bergen Community College, Sheriff Launch Initiative for Deaf Community

Who: Bergen Community College and the Bergen County Sheriff’s Office

What: Event launching a new initiative to improve interaction between law enforcement and the deaf/hard-of-hearing community.

When: Friday, Nov. 8, 11 a.m.

Where: Bergen Community College, Parking Lot C, 400 Paramus Road, Paramus, New Jersey

Why: For more than a decade, members of the Bergen County Sheriff’s Office have maintained a substation at Bergen Community College to support the campus’ overall safety. In addition to providing the College with uniformed law enforcement, the sheriff’s officers have often collaborated with the institution’s faculty and staff to develop new initiatives aimed at enhancing community relations. The College and Sheriff’s Office will announce the latest initiative, a communication card created to foster improved interactions between law enforcement and the deaf/hard-of-hearing community, during a Nov. 8 kickoff event and demonstration.

The colorful communication card enables officers and those hard of hearing to interact with each other via pictures and words outlining the expectations or needs of the individuals on either side of the conversation. The card also offers tips for law enforcement officers to consider when interacting with someone hard of hearing. Members of the College’s Office of Specialized Services, which assists nearly 1,300 students with disabilities each year, led the development of the card. The Sheriff’s Office has laminated the card and will place it 70 departmental vehicles and distribute among 52 officers. The collaborators hope the placement card will serve as a model for law enforcement across the county and state. Cards will also be distributed at the College among students and in the community at social service, governmental and public agencies.

The kickoff event speakers and guests include Bergen President Michael D. Redmond, Ph.D., Bergen County Sheriff Anthony Cureton, College staff who devised the card, students and members of the Sheriff’s Office. The event will also feature a demonstration of the card’s use featuring Bergen student Jonathan Uloa and Bergen County Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Christopher Sloma during a simulated traffic stop.

Please contact Dr. Hlavenka or Mr. Sands for additional information.

Based in Paramus, Bergen Community College (www.bergen.edu), a public two-year coeducational college, enrolls more than 13,000 students at locations in Paramus, the Philip Ciarco Jr. Learning Center in Hackensack and Bergen Community College at the Meadowlands in Lyndhurst. The College offers associate degree, certificate and continuing education programs in a variety of fields. More students graduate from Bergen than any other community college in the state.

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