To read this content please select one of the options below:

Police officer perspectives on intellectual disability

Danielle Maya Eadens (Educational Specialities Department, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, Arizona, USA)
Ann Cranston-Gingras (Department of Adult, Career and Higher Education, University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida, USA)
Errol Dupoux (Special Education Department, St. Petersburg College, St. Petersburg, Florida, USA)
Daniel Wayne Eadens (Educational Leadership Department, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, Arizona, USA)

Policing: An International Journal

ISSN: 1363-951X

Article publication date: 21 March 2016

1866

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine police officer perceptions about persons with intellectual disabilities.

Design/methodology/approach

In this study, 188 officers from three police districts in the Southeast USA were surveyed using a modified Social Distance Questionnaire.

Findings

Results indicate that the majority of police officers surveyed had little or no training with regard to disabilities and that most are willing to interact socially with individuals with intellectual disabilities. Further, this study found that female officers had significantly greater positive attitudes toward individuals with intellectual disabilities than male respondents and that white respondents were more knowledgeable about these individuals than those from minority backgrounds.

Research limitations/implications

While these results are significant, it should be noted that the number of female and minority participants was relatively low.

Practical implications

The paper includes recommendations for professional development for police officer and criminal justice training programs.

Social implications

As individuals with developmental and intellectual disabilities are increasingly integrated into society, their vulnerability to mishandling by the criminal justice system and police officers intensifies. This paper allows police officers and those within the field of criminal justice an opportunity to examine perceptions as they seek to understand how police and general societal perceptions impact the way that people interact with persons with intellectual disabilities.

Originality/value

This paper fulfills a need to examine attitudes of police officers toward citizens with intellectual disabilities in the communities in which they live. These attitudes often affect the way that police officers interact with citizens and identify additional training needs to better prepare officers for diverse individuals they may will encounter.

Keywords

Citation

Eadens, D.M., Cranston-Gingras, A., Dupoux, E. and Eadens, D.W. (2016), "Police officer perspectives on intellectual disability", Policing: An International Journal, Vol. 39 No. 1, pp. 222-235. https://doi.org/10.1108/PIJPSM-03-2015-0039

Publisher

:

Emerald Group Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2016, Emerald Group Publishing Limited

Related articles