Victim and third-party reporting of violent victimization to the police in incidents involving victims with disabilities

Abstract

Objectives: Reporting an incident to police is a key event in the criminal legal process. The current study centers types of disability and how this may shape victim and third-party reporting while considering well-known correlates. Methods: Using the National Crime Victimization Survey (2016–2020), the current study examines police reporting in incidents involving victims with disabilities compared to victims without disabilities. This study not only considers whether the victim reported, but also third-party reporting to the police. We also explore the reasons why individuals with disabilities did not report incidents to police. Results: Incidents involving victims with cognitive disabilities were less likely to be reported to the police by the victim. There were no statistical differences in third-party reporting for any of the forms of disability considered. Notably, in incidents involving both Deaf/Blind victims and victims with physical disabilities, victims were more likely to cite perceptions of police ineffectiveness as a reason for not reporting. In incidents with victims with physical or cognitive disabilities, fear of reprisal from the offender was a more salient concern. Conclusions: This study underscores the importance of examining the victimization experiences of marginalized populations and their willingness to engage with the criminal legal system.

Assessment of Functional and Dysfunctional Perceived Threat of Hate Crimes Among Persons With and Without Disability

“…To our knowledge, no prior investigations have considered the links between the two, despite its growing scholarly and 5. This is consistent with the work of Powers & Hayes (2022), given the small cell sizes among these groups. Combining these items focuses on respondents who experience sensory differences and for whom their disability may be considered a cultural group (Padden, 2000;Scholl, 2000).…”

“…We hypothesize that persons with a disability will be more likely to exhibit dysfunctional perceived threat (vs. functional or no perceived threat) of hate crime across different bias motivations compared to those without a disability. Due to the importance of examining specific disability type as opposed to broad or global measures (Cossman et al, 2016;Powers & Hayes, 2022), we also disaggregated the disability measure to consider these associations across types of disabilities.…”

People With Disabilities and Violent Victimization in the Heartland: Results from the First Phase of the West Virginia Community Quality of Life Survey

“…While the estimates we produced are in and of themselves alarming, such estimates are especially concerning given low rates of reporting to law enforcement (Langton et al, 2012), and particularly among persons with disabilities (Powers & Hayes, 2022). Indeed, we are not seeing this level of victimization in law enforcement reports.…”

“…Indeed, we are not seeing this level of victimization in law enforcement reports. This may be because police do not have experience conducting interviews with victims with cognitive impairments, such information is incredibly difficult to capture, or one's disabilityespecially a cognitive disability -may be invisible (Camilleri, 2019;Powers & Hayes, 2022). Further, as an example, the Ohio reporting forms do not have a check box to capture disability (Ohio Office of Criminal Justice Services, n.d.).…”

“…Perhaps more concerning within this elevated victimization risk is that victims with IDD, compared to victims without disabilities or with other types of disabilities, tend to have more severe physical and mental health consequences related to the victimization (Hayes & Powers, 2021) and are also less likely to report their experiences to law enforcement (Powers & Hayes, 2022). This gap in reporting, compounded with more severe physical and mental health consequences, can have significant life-long effects as the victim with a disability navigates the trauma of a victimization experience.…”