Geographic information system analysis of developmentally disabled adult offenders

Abstract

Purpose – Adult offenders diagnosed with developmental disabilities have been referred for services to a Northeast Ohio county agency. The purpose of this paper is to examine their repartition in the three areas of the county as determined by zip codes, their involvement with the criminal justice system, types of offenses they committed, their indictment, and the court outcomes. Design/methodology/approach – This study used a geographic information system (GIS) mapping based on secondary data collected from the 2008 to 2012 American Community Survey and a random sample of 160 participants selected from an agency database including 850 clients. Findings – The authors found that the concentrations of offenders in the core city, inner, and outer suburbs of the county were, respectively 71.7, 19.6, and 8.7 percent. The largest racial groups included African Americans (112; 70 percent) and Whites (33; 20.6 percent). Male offenders (155; 96.9 percent) outnumbered female offenders. Of the offenses committed, 42.9 percent were crimes against persons including kidnapping, abduction, assault, followed by crimes against property (22.2 percent), and crimes against society (26.4 percent). As they appeared before Mental Health Court or Non Mental Health Court judges, the court outcome evolved from community control for six months to prison sentence of 120 months. Research limitations/implications – These findings will enable agency professionals to look for protective as well as risk factors that are prevalent in each area of this NEO county and make plans for more effective, preventative, and clinical service provision. Originality/value – The use of GIS for data analysis represents an innovation in the research field involving adult offenders with developmental disability as it allows professionals to look for protective as well as risk factors that are prevalent in their clients’ immediate environment.