Police officers may experience various challenges when interacting with individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) who may be a suspect or witness to a crime. Disabilities are more common than many may estimate. In 2022, about one in four adults in the United States reported having a disability, 13.9 percent of whom reported a cognitive disability that significantly affects concentration, memory, or decision-making¹. Some of these disabilities are hidden and may be difficult for officers to recognize during high-stress or time-sensitive situations, such as suspect and witness interviews.

In 2024, to strengthen law enforcement awareness of and responses to individuals with IDD in interrogations, the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) launched the Reducing Risks and Building Trust: Effective Interview and Interrogation of People with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities project. This initiative aims to advance community policing through the development of innovative resources to enhance police practices around interviewing and interrogating people with IDD who are witnesses to or suspects of crime. The IACP partners for this initiative with The Arc of the United States’ National Center on Criminal Justice and Disability (The Arc), leading legal experts, and the United States Department of Justice, Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS Office).

National Collaboration

In 2025, the IACP first convened the National Consortium on Effective Interactions with People with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (National IDD Consortium), composed of 31 police leaders, prosecutors, defense attorneys, behavioral health experts, legal experts, disability advocates, and individuals with lived experience. The consortium’s multidisciplinary approach enables the IACP to engage a broad range of impacted stakeholders and translate their insights into practical, forward-looking recommendations to strengthen policing policies and practices.

Over the past year the National IDD Consortium has been meeting regularly to examine promising practices and challenges related to identifying people with IDD, communication, understanding of Miranda rights, and non-confrontational interview methods. The Consortium has also explored current research, relevant case law, the broader legal landscape, and existing training and resources.

To further ground this work in police practices, the IACP hosted two events with police leaders and investigators from diverse agencies across the United States. The Effective Interrogation of People with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Roundtable was held at the 2025 IACP Annual Conference and Exposition in Denver, Colorado, in October 2025, and convened 24 police leaders, legal experts, and disability advocates to engage in a peer-to-peer discussion on current practice, gaps, and needs of the field related to interviewing and interrogating individuals with IDD. In February 2026, the IACP hosted an Online Forum on Effective Interrogation of People with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities. This forum gathered feedback from 20 criminal investigators on current strategies and gaps in training and resources for interrogating individuals with IDD.

Upcoming Resources

Insights and recommendations from the National IDD Consortium and IACP leadership and investigator convenings will inform several upcoming resources on the current state of practice and recommendations for police interviews and interrogations of individuals with IDD. These resources will be released in Fall 2026.

If you’d like to be notified when these resources are available, please fill out this interest form.

Conclusion

Through this initiative, the IACP and its partners are advancing the policing profession by developing innovative resources to enhance strategies for police interviews and interrogations of individuals with IDD who are witnesses to or suspects of crime. By strengthening investigative practices, this work aims to enhance the evidentiary value of interviews and interrogations, reduce the risk of false confessions, ensure that offenders are held accountable, and build community trust in policing. To learn more about this groundbreaking project, visit iacp.org/idd or contact [email protected].

Marianne Mulrooney
Project Coordinator
International Association of Chiefs of Police

References

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1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “Disability,” PLACES: Local Data for Better Health, accessed April 8, 2026, https://www.cdc.gov/places/measure-definitions/disability.html.

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