Get 20M+ Full-Text Papers For Less Than $1.50/day. Start a 14-Day Trial for You or Your Team.

Learn More →

Law Enforcement Officers: A Call for Training and Awareness of Disabilities

Law Enforcement Officers: A Call for Training and Awareness of Disabilities Law enforcement officers (LEOs) are likely to encounter people with disabilities (PWD) during calls for service. These interactions sometimes escalate situations involving PWD and may result in arrest or death due to a lack of disability awareness among LEOs. The purpose of this study was to explore the current perspectives of LEOs regarding PWD and to identify the current training needs of LEOs regarding disability awareness and interactions with PWD. This study utilized two focus groups consisting of participants representing seven law enforcement agencies across a large, Western state. Results indicate that the perceptions and needs of the LEOs regarding PWD are shaped by four themes: (a) personal connections, (b) job experience, (c) training opportunities, and (d) training needs. Implications for policy and practice to enhance the rigor of disability awareness training for LEOs are described. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Journal of Disability Policy Studies SAGE

Law Enforcement Officers: A Call for Training and Awareness of Disabilities

Loading next page...
 
/lp/sage/law-enforcement-officers-a-call-for-training-and-awareness-of-Phbk0YPyfY

References (35)

Publisher
SAGE
Copyright
© Hammill Institute on Disabilities 2022
ISSN
1044-2073
eISSN
1538-4802
DOI
10.1177/10442073221094803
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

Law enforcement officers (LEOs) are likely to encounter people with disabilities (PWD) during calls for service. These interactions sometimes escalate situations involving PWD and may result in arrest or death due to a lack of disability awareness among LEOs. The purpose of this study was to explore the current perspectives of LEOs regarding PWD and to identify the current training needs of LEOs regarding disability awareness and interactions with PWD. This study utilized two focus groups consisting of participants representing seven law enforcement agencies across a large, Western state. Results indicate that the perceptions and needs of the LEOs regarding PWD are shaped by four themes: (a) personal connections, (b) job experience, (c) training opportunities, and (d) training needs. Implications for policy and practice to enhance the rigor of disability awareness training for LEOs are described.

Journal

Journal of Disability Policy StudiesSAGE

Published: Mar 1, 2023

Keywords: law enforcement officers; police officers; disability awareness; training

There are no references for this article.