Dominick Caggiano Cardinal Spellman Email: dcaggiano@cardinalspellman.org
U.S. Police Officers' Failure to Treat and Deal with People with Disabilities
Introduction:
Understanding mental illnesses is not commonplace for people in all walks of life, but all police officers should understand mental illness. It is necessary for police officers to be able to properly deal with people with mental disabilities. In The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime, the main character, Christopher, has a violent altercation with a police officer.
In this Web Quest, you will explore how the police officer In The Curious Incident did not respond properly when dealing with Christopher (a mentally disabled person), as well as investigate the prevalent nature of this in our society. Through the numerous examples provided of police officers' inability to properly deal with individuals with mental disabilities, we will learn how to analyze the problem that exists in the United States and develop public policy solutions using the Public Policy Analyst.
Task:
As a policy analyst for the United States, it will be your job to investigate the social problem mentioned above, and formulate some solutions for police violence with the mentally ill and present it in the form of a typed, double-spaced 3-5 page paper. You will also be responsible for presenting a shortened version of your paper to a committee made up of your peers which you will present in class.
Process:
1. Your teacher will arrange the class into groups of 4 or 5 students.
2. You will use the websites provided in the Resources section to help you in your research, summarizing your research on the six TIPS public policy analyst worksheets below:
b. Gather evidence of the problem
c. Identify causes of the problem
d. Evaluate public policies designed to solve the problem
e. Develop your own original public policy solutions
3. Each group will write a 3-5-page position paper on its topic. Use a-f in step 3 as the subheadings of your paper, analyzing the problem and offering public policy solutions. Your group will then present this paper to the class.
RESOURCES:
Use the following websites to help you in your research:
Evidence of Problem:
· http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/09/08/police-are-failing-america-s-disabled.html
· http://www.disabled-world.com/editorials/cops.php
· http://www.alternet.org/civil-liberties/5-times-police-killed-people-mental-disabilities
· https://www.aclu.org/blog/criminal-law-reform-free-speech/police-brutality-and-deaf-people
· http://www.thenation.com/article/175561/when-cops-criminalize-disabled http://www.thearcofmidland.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/A-Police-Officers-Guide-for-Working-with-People-with-Developmental-Disabilities-and-Achieving-Positive-Outcome.pdf
Causes:
Evidence/Causes/Solution:
· http://www.ushrnetwork.org/sites/ushrnetwork.org/files/29-police-poor.pdf
Public Policies:
· http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/05/22/maryland-police-disabilities-program_n_5375149.html
· http://www.victimsofcrime.org/library/resource-directory-victims-with-disabilities/law-enforcement
· http://www.thearc.org/NCCJD/resources/by-audience/law-enforcement
Evaluation:
|
Task |
Excellent (4) |
Satisfactory (3) |
Minimal Satisfactory (2) |
Unsatisfactory (1) |
|
Worksheets |
Organization
Student presentation is logical, clear and fully captivates audience interest. |
Organization
Student presentation is logical, clear and somehow captivates audience interest |
Organization
Student presentation is logical and somehow clear but not captivating. |
Organization
Student presentation is illogical and distorted. |
|
Report |
Subject Knowledge
Student will demonstrate full knowledge of subject matter and beyond |
Subject Knowledge
Student demonstrates knowledge of subject matter |
Subject Knowledge
Student has demonstrated a little knowledge of subject matter |
Subject Knowledge
Student does not know subject matter |
|
Presentation |
Accuracy
No grammatical errors
|
Accuracy
Very few grammatical Errors |
Accuracy
Some grammatical errors |
Accuracy
Too many grammatical errors that distorts the meaning of words. |
Conclusion:
When you have completed this activity, you will have a greater understanding of the issues and public policies surrounding police abusing mentally ill in America. You will have also demonstrated an ability to develop your own original public policy solutions and you will have presented your research expertly to your peers.
STANDARDS
English Language Arts Standards:
1. Read and comprehend informational materials.
2. Produce a report of information.
3. Prepare and deliver an individual presentation
Social Studies Standards:
1. Identify, describe, and evaluate evidence about events from diverse sources (including written documents, works of art, photographs, charts and graphs, artifacts, oral traditions, and other primary and secondary sources).
2. Analyze evidence in terms of content, authorship, point of view, bias, purpose, format, and audience.
3. Make inferences and draw conclusions from evidence.
4. Deconstruct and construct plausible and persuasive arguments using evidence.