Perceptions, Behaviors, and Satisfaction Related to Public Safety for Persons With Disabilities in the United States

Abstract

Data from the 2008 panel of the Survey of Income and Program Participation is used to investigate fear of crime and satisfaction with police services among adults with and without disabilities in metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas in the United States, controlling for individual-level characteristics. Persons with disabilities feel less safe, are more likely to exhibit protective behaviors due to safety concerns, and are less satisfied with police services than persons without disabilities. Multivariate results suggest that persons with a disability who live in nonmetropolitan areas have fewer concerns around personal safety but are generally less satisfied with local police services than persons with disabilities who live in metropolitan areas. Policy implications and future research directions are discussed.