1 option
Law Enforcement Response to Persons with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities: Identifying High-Priority Needs to Improve Law Enforcement Strategies
- Format:
- Book
- Author/Creator:
- Richardson, Dustin A.
- Language:
- English
- Other Title:
- Law Enforcement Response to Persons with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities
- Place of Publication:
- RAND Corporation 2024
- Summary:
- Intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDDs) are lifelong conditions that are usually present at birth or by the age of 18. IDDs can affect an individual's physical, intellectual, and emotional development. Individuals with IDDs are overrepresented in the justice system for myriad reasons, and studies have found that IDD-related challenges can make interactions with police officers difficult. Police are trained to recognize and respond to a wide variety of situations in which individuals are acting atypically, but many IDDs are hidden or not immediately recognizable by physical characteristics and can be mistaken as the effects of drugs or other substance use. Although police need not diagnose specific IDDs, it is critical that they can recognize when IDDs present in a crisis situation and know how to respond appropriately. RAND and the Police Executive Research Forum, on behalf of the National Institute of Justice, organized a workshop of subject-matter experts, including police practitioners, researchers, individuals with lived experience, and community stakeholders to discuss the current law enforcement response to individuals with IDDs and identify research and policy needs to support efforts to address expert-identified problems and opportunities. Through a series of interviews and group discussions, the workshop participants identified 23 high-priority needs, six of which they categorized as highest priority. These needs address issues related to (1) understanding law enforcement's involvement with persons with IDDs, (2) improving IDD training and resources for law enforcement, and (3) establishing partnerships and avenues of dissemination for improving the law enforcement response.
The Penn Libraries is committed to describing library materials using current, accurate, and responsible language. If you discover outdated or inaccurate language, please fill out this feedback form to report it and suggest alternative language.