Spectrum News: Disabled victims, under-reported crimes center of new research

UC researchers receive grant to study crime reporting for individuals with disabilities

A federal grant from the Department of Justice will allow researchers from the University of Cincinnati's College of Education, Criminal Justice and Human Services and the College of Allied Health Sciences to determine better ways for individuals with disabilities to report crimes against them. 

“I began looking in some of the national data sets, and what was really evident to us at that point in time was that individuals with disabilities were at much greater risk for victimization,” the study’s co-lead author Brittany Hayes told Spectrum News.

Hayes, an associate professor with the University of Cincinnati’s School of Criminal Justice, and Amanda Simmons, an assistant professor in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, have begun seeking participants for the study, which will include focus groups.

The researchers will determine barriers to reporting as well as protype new methods of reporting.

Read more about the study. 

Featured image at top courtsey of UnSplash/Alexander Grey.

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