Attidtudinal ratings towards offenders with intellectual disabilities by police officers, intellectual disability workers and a community sample

The Intellectual Disability (Compulsory Care and Rehabilitation) Act 2003 (IDCCR Act 2003) was enacted to provide management options for offenders with intellectual disabilities (ID). To become subject to the Act an offender with ID must be convicted or charged of an offence. However, research suggests that there may be some difficulties in offenders with ID coming to the attention of the criminal justice system. Previous studies indicate people's attitudes towards offenders vary as a function of the presence of an ID (Clare & Gudjonsson, 1993, 1995; Gibbons, Gibbons and Kassin,1981; Jackson, Cockram and Underwood, 1994; McAfee, Cockram and Wolfe, 2001; McNulty, Kissi-Deborah & Newsom-Davies, 1995; Schilit, 1979) and that there is a reluctance to involve police in situations where a person with an ID has offended (Day, 1994; Lyall, Holland, & Collins, 1995). It was hypothesized that the presence of an ID would affect the attitudes of three groups of people towards an offender. Police officers (n=125), staff members who work in facilities for people with ID (n=101), and a community group (n=118) completed a questionnaire depicting a 27-year old person with either an intellectual disability (ID) or with average intelligence (non-ID). The questionnaire portrayed the offender in four crime scenarios: theft, physical assault, arson and sexual assault. Participants rated questions about the offender's responsibility for their behaviour, the seriousness of that behaviour, whether the police should be contacted about that behaviour, whether the offender should be charged with a crime, and whether the person should be imprisoned for the offence if found guilty. The results were largely as predicted and suggested that people from a variety of backgrounds believe that ID offenders are not as responsible and that the crime not as serious as non-ID offenders. Results also indicated that the police should not be informed, the offender should not be charged or imprisoned to the same degree as a non-ID offender. The results of the study are discussed in relation to the IDCCR Act 2003