Public Servant Lifestyle

West Yorkshire Police has become one of only a few select Police forces in the UK to win the prestigious 'See it Right' award for easy to use, accessible websites.

The force website - www.westyorkshire.police.uk - is now displaying the special logo awarded by the Royal National Institute of the Blind.

Said Patrick Brooke, Web Communications Manager: "We are proud to win the RNIB award which once again demonstrates the Force's commitment to Accessibility issues. The standards are very high and involved a lot of work but we wanted to ensure our website met the highest possible standards for all users.

"The RNIB award is not just about blind or partially sighted users, but ensures the site is easy to use, and navigate, for all people. It is a sad fact that lots of people with disabilities, especially visually impaired users, find many websites difficult or even impossible to use because of the way they have been designed.

"With press releases, appeals, factual information, recruitment issues and local Neighbourhood Policing Team updates, we know that our website is an important means of contact between the public and the police.

"We work hard to maintain our standards and comply with the requirements of the Disability Discrimination Act."

The in-depth examination of the site included checks on good contrast between foreground and background colours; the use of text, rather than a graphic, to link text and the absence of pop up windows which can create confusion. The technology used to build the site also ensures that it is accessible from any kind of browser.

Bim Egan, RNIB Web Accessibility Consultant, who audited the website, said: "It's a great pleasure to add the West Yorkshire Police web site to the growing number of sites that are good enough to be awarded RNIB's See it Right logo.

“When making changes to improve accessibility, West Yorkshire Police and their commercial technical team The Web Works enthusiastically took on board a host of accessible techniques. They also came up with some innovative ideas themselves, proving that accessibility can inspire rather than dampen creativity. The site is now easier for everyone to use, including people with disabilities."

Said Donna Spowart, of The Web Works: 'The challenge is to create a site which communicates equally as effectively with visually impaired users without compromising the experience for sighted users. We truly believe that keeping things simple and being able to 'see it right' is the way forward in information delivery via the Internet.'

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