Police attitudes toward people with intellectual disability: an evaluationof awareness training

It is argued that more favourable police attitudes to people with intellect ual disability (ID) are essential in meeting the police code of ethics, whi ch stresses impartiality and respect for human dignity. The need to acknowl edge and investigate the extent of support for eugenic attitudes in other k ey professionals who have a significant role in the successful inclusion of people with ID in community settings is discussed. The present paper repor ts on the evaluation of an awareness training event conducted by the Royal Ulster Constabulary in terms of the impact on attitudes towards people with ID held by police officers. The quasi-experimental design involved the mea surement of participants' attitudes prior to and following awareness traini ng, and the comparison of these data with a control group of participants w ho did not undertake awareness exercises. The Attitudes toward Mental Retar dation and Eugenics (AMRE) scale was the instrument used to measure attitud es. Analysis identified the presence of varying degrees of support for the application of eugenic principles to people with ID. Furthermore, the resul ts indicate that participation in the awareness exercise and subsequent dis cussions is associated with a significant reduction in support for eugenic- based attitudes towards people with ID by the police officers involved. Inv estment in training events which target attitudes towards people with ID ca n bring about a shift in reported attitudes. The importance of evaluating s uch awareness-raising exercises and their impact on police behaviour is hig hlighted.