Hearing Loss/Deafness Sign Language Sign Language Crime Vocabulary Signs for Emergency Crime Communication By Jamie Berke facebook Jamie Berke is a deafness and hard of hearing expert. Learn about our editorial process Jamie Berke Fact checked by Fact checked by Ashley Hall on April 20, 2020 linkedin Ashley Hall is a writer and fact checker who has been published in multiple medical journals in the field of surgery. Learn about our editorial process Ashley Hall Updated on April 20, 2020 Print It is not unusual for deaf people to have difficulty communicating with the police, particularly in crime emergency situations. While police ARE legally required to bring in interpreters or technology for interviewing deaf people involved with crimes, it is helpful if the police know at least some basic signs related to crime. The death of a Gallaudet student, Carl Dupree, in 1991 has been attributed in part to the police's inability to understand his sign language as he tried to tell the police that he could not breathe. Steve Debenport / Getty Images Here are some words commonly associated with crime, and the sources of signs for them. Alarm ASL BrowserArgue ASL ProArrest ASL BrowserArson (Fire) ASL BrowserAssault (Hit) ASL BrowserBlood ASL BrowserBreak ASL BrowserCourt ASL ProEscape ASL BrowserFight ASL BrowserGuilt ASL BrowserGun ASL BrowserInnocent ASL BrowserInvestigate ASL BrowserJail ASL BrowserKidnap ASL ProKill (Murder) ASL BrowserKnife ASL BrowserLawyer ASL BrowserRape ASL BrowserStab ASL BrowserTheft (Rob) ASL BrowserWitness ASL Browser Of course, it is also helpful for police to know the sign language alphabet so that cops can at least fingerspell words or understand the fingerspelling of a deaf person. Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Sign up for our Health Tip of the Day newsletter, and receive daily tips that will help you live your healthiest life. Sign Up You're in! Thank you, {{form.email}}, for signing up. There was an error. Please try again. What are your concerns? Other Inaccurate Hard to Understand Submit