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.
Featured image at top courtsey of UnSplash/Alexander Grey.
Impact Lives Here
The University of Cincinnati is leading public urban universities into a new era of innovation and impact. Our faculty, staff and students are saving lives, changing outcomes and bending the future in our city's direction. Next Lives Here.
Related Stories
UC doctoral student awarded prestigious doctoral fellowship
June 11, 2026
A native of Muribenua village on Nikunau island in Kiribati, Amota Ataneka could have led a life of subsistence fishing on his home island of less than 2,000 inhabitants. But his passion for education led him to various academic pursuits, including the recent announcement he'd been awarded one of only 35 National Academy of Education (NAEd)/Spencer Dissertation Fellowships.
Pocket-sized population threat
June 10, 2026
The Financial Times took a deep dive into why populations around the world continue to be on the decline. The publication cited new University of Cincinnati research as part of the investigation that looks at the fall of fertility in the digital era.
Patients with developmental disabilities may benefit with an integrated care model
June 9, 2026
Researchers from the University of Cincinnati and Ohio State University have found that adults with developmental disabilities who have integrated care were less likely to go to the emergency room or be hospitalized than others who were not. Their work was published in Disability and Health Journal.