NCJ Number
88916
Journal
Victimology Volume: 6 Issue: 1-4 Dated: (1981) Pages: 331-337
Date Published
1983
Length
7 pages
Annotation
A survey of monitors of the mentally retarded in the Chicago region examined the crime victimization problems of their clients, including fear, avoidance, incidence, and programming importance.
Abstract
The questionnaire was completed by all of the monitors, and the time frame for the questions was the previous 12 months. Few monitors were fully aware of the extent of victimization of their clients, as indicated by the proportion of 'don't know' responses to queries about the experiences of their clients. Of the 23 monitors, 7 indicated that at least one of their clients had been victimized in the last year. Only four of the seven could specify the percent of clients who had been victimized. These percentages ranged from 2 to 10 percent. All of the monitors responded to the question about how safe from crime they thought their clients felt, with 86 percent indicating that their clients felt either 'very safe' or 'reasonably safe' from both violent and property crime. Day program monitors indicated that 84 percent of their clients were more vulnerable to criminal victimization because of their mental disability, while residential monitors reported that close to half of their clients were more vulnerable because of mental disability. Eighty percent of the monitors indicated that special programming on crime victimization was either 'very important' or 'somewhat important,' although few monitors responded that it was 'very important.' Programs suggested were training clients for self-protection, creating facility security standards, and creating a victim advocacy unit. Overall, crime victimization is not perceived as being a severe problem for the mentally retarded, but it is a problem that has yet to be adequately monitored or addressed. Eight references are listed. (Author summary modified)