V. Crime Victims Who Have Mental Retardation

Background

Mental retardation is an impairment affecting the brain and its ability to process information. People with mental retardation have difficulty learning and are below average in intelligence. They have problems with memory and judgment and in their abilities to reason, focus, and understand.

Approximately 3 out of 100 people have mental retardation. But people with mental retardation appear to represent much more than 3 percent of crime victims because they also appear to be at higher risk for victimization than people without disabilities.

Most people with mental retardation are only mildly affected and look no different from anyone else, making mental retardation difficult for first responders to recognize.

Furthermore, people with mental retardation may try to hide their impairment or pretend greater capabilities than they actually possess. There are, however, questions you can ask and traits you can watch for when attempting to determine if a crime victim has mental retardation:

• Ask victims where they live, work, or go to school, and if they have someone who helps them to determine if they live with their parents or in a group home, are employed in a vocational rehabilitation setting, attend special education classes, or have a social worker.

• Ask victims for directions to their home, what time they have, or to read or write something for you. Observe victims for any difficulty they have understanding you; listen to whether they speak with an impairment or have a limited vocabulary; and watch for any other difficulties exhibited by victims in responding to these simple requests.

There is often no way for the first responder to know that a crime victim has mental retardation. People with the disability can vary widely in their capabilities and skills. If you suspect this impairment, proceed as though the victim has mental retardation. In doing this, you can ensure effective communication and know that you have done your best to respond appropriately to the victim's needs.

Tips on Responding to Crime Victims Who Have Mental Retardation

• Show the same respect to crime victims with mental retardation that you show all victims.

• Introduce yourself first as a law enforcement officer, followed by your agency and name. People with mental retardation have been taught that law enforcement officers are their friends and are people they can trust and who will keep them safe.

• Avoid using the words "retardation" or "retarded" in front of victims. If you need to refer to a victim's impairment and the victim is nearby, say "person with a disability."

• Do not assume that victims are incapable of understanding or communicating with you. Most people who have mental retardation live independently or semi-independently in the community, so a fairly normal conversation is possible.

• Create a safe atmosphere, limit distractions, and establish a trusting rapport with victims before interviewing them.

• Be mindful of the issue of a victim's competency to give or withhold consent to medical treatment and forensic exams, notification of next of kin, and other services, but do not assume victims are incompetent.

• Explain written information to victims and offer to help them fill out paperwork.

• Ask victims if there is anyone they would like you to call to be with them during your interview. But remember, family members, service providers, and others can have a vested interest in the interview. They could be the offenders or try to protect the offenders.

• Allow adequate time for your interview and take a break every 15 minutes.

• Treat adult victims as adults, not children.

• Speak directly and slowly to victims, keeping your sentences short and words simple. Listen to how victims talk, and match your speech to their vocabulary, tempo, and sentence structure.

• Separate complex information into smaller parts and use gestures and other visual props to get your meaning across. Do not overload victims with too much information.

• Recognize that victims may be eager to please or be easily influenced by you. They may say what they think you want to hear, so be careful not to ask leading questions.

• Use open-ended questions or statements that cannot be answered with a "yes" or "no," such as "Tell me what happened." Let victims "lead the interview" as they disclose information.

• Help victims understand your questions by giving them points of reference. For example, ask "What color was the man's hair?" rather than "What did the man look like?" and "Did the fight start before or after lunch?" instead of "When did the fight start?"

• Wait patiently at least 30 seconds for victims to respond to an instruction or question. If victims do not respond or reply inappropriately, calmly repeat yourself, using different words. Also, have victims state in their words what they understood you to say.

• Repeat the last phrase of victims' responses in question form to help them stay focused during your interview and to transition victims through a sequence of events. For example, ask "He hit you?", "You fell down?", and "You tried to run?"

• Keep questions that require victims to do much reasoning or that can confuse victims to a minimum. Examples of types of questions to avoid include the following: "Why do you think she did this to you?", "Do you have any idea what was going on?", or "What made you do that?"

• Realize that you are not alone when you respond to crime victims with mental retardation. Look in the telephone book under "social service organizations," contact your local United Way or local chapter of The Arc, or call The Arc of the United States at (800) 433-5255 for help on how best to serve victims who have mental retardation.