Training Police Officers About Persons with Disabilities: A 50-State Policy Analysis

Directors of police academies in the 50 states were contacted regarding training policies for new officers. Only Massachusetts and New Hampshire failed to provide any information. Thirty-Six states require instruction on persons with disabilities as part of initial police training; another four states provide some training but do not require it. An analysis of training topics reveals a wide variety of content, but most academies provide training about mental illness. Few academies include training about learning disabilities, mental retardation, or physical impairments (see note 1).