Enhancing police officer ability to identify persons with intellectual disabilities : a literature review

This research paper was completed and submitted at Nipissing University, and is made freely accessible through the University of Toronto’s TSpace repositoryThere is very little available research regarding the interactions between police officers and persons with intellectual disabilities (ID). The research that does exist suggests that persons with ID should be diverted from the mainstream criminal justice system (CJS) and provided with alternative sanctions whenever possible. The purpose of this research was to summarize the current state of knowledge regarding police contact with persons with ID including screening instruments currently in use. Next, items on the screening instruments were reviewed to determine whether any were practical for use by police officers in order to inform the potential development of a police-use ID screener to help officers identify persons with ID and take appropriate action