Epidemiology of Physically Disabled Offenders

While most of the literature on the experiences of physically disabled offenders in prison is legal or anecdotal, there is next to no epidemiological exploration of this special population in our state and federal correctional facilities. This is particularly troubling because it is estimated that there are over 220,000 inmates who have some degree of physical impairment. The purpose of this article is to set the stage for such future research. This article examines the importance of epidemiological research, problems with existing research, prevalence of the prison population that are physically disabled, characteristics of these offenders (e.g., age, sex, race), the correctional environments in which they are placed, and suggestions for future research.