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PREPARING TO PROVIDE ACCOMMODATIONS: 
Recommendations for Law Enforcement Agencies

People with disabilities and Deaf people are 
victims of violent crime at three times the 
rate of people without disabilities.1 They 
also experience some of the greatest barriers 
to staying safe. Too often, it is difficult for 
victims with disabilities to report a crime and 
participate in an investigation. Federal law 
requires government agencies, including 
law enforcement, to ensure their responses 
and services are accessible to victims with 
disabilities so they can participate in the 
criminal justice system.2 An important way 
to increase access to safety is by providing 
victims with accommodations. 

What is an accommodation? 
Title II of the Americans with 
Disabilities Act (ADA) requires 
government agencies to make all 
services available to people with 
disabilities. This includes providing 
and paying for auxiliary aids and 
services, such as sign language 
interpreters and Braille materials, 
to ensure equal access. It also includes 
making reasonable modifications to 
policies, procedures, and practices. 
Together, we refer to these as 
accommodations.

This document is part of a toolkit that includes a how-to guide for asking about 
and providing accommodations. Before agency personnel begin implementing 
those recommendations, it is essential that your agency has the resources and 
supports in place to help personnel seamlessly provide accommodations. Being 
unable to meet a victimÕs accommodation request can create a barrier for them 
to get the help they need. Additionally, it can damage your agencyÕs relationship 
with that victim and others in the disability and Deaf communities. This document 
outlines several actions your agency can take to make sure personnel are prepared 
to provide accommodations to survivors in a timely manner.



To learn more about providing accommodations, visit 
reachingvictims.org/resource/just-ask.












How to prepare your agency to 
provide accommodations

Review and update your agencyÕs 
accommodations policy 
Because it is often not possible to tell if someone has a disability 
just by looking at them, an effective accommodations policy 
should direct agency personnel to ask all victims if they need 
accommodations. Your agencyÕs policy should also describe when 
and how to ask victims if they need accommodations; outline 
the steps to take when a request is made, including how to meet 
requests in a timely manner; and explain how to confirm if the 
provided accommodations are effective. If your agency has an 
accommodations policy in place, review and, if necessary, revise 
it to ensure it meets recommended practices. If your agency 
does not have an accommodations policy, create one as soon 
as possible. Disability and Deaf service organizations can support 
you in creating policies that meet the needs of victims with 
disabilities and Deaf victims. 

FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION: If a person who uses a mobility 
device, such as a motorized wheelchair, needs a courtesy ride, 
does your policy direct agency personnel how to arrange 
accessible transportation? Avoid using ambulances if possible.




2PREPARING TO PROVIDE ACCOMMODATIONS | Recommendations for Law Enforcement Agencies





How to prepare your agency to 
provide accommodations (continued)

Budget for accommodations 
Your agency will likely receive more accommodation requests 
once agency personnel start asking every victim about the need 
for accommodations. Some of these requests may not have any 
costs associated with them, such as talking slower or reading 
information out loud when working with a victim whose ability 
to process information is impacted by their disability. However, 
other accommodation requests will have costs that may not 
currently be included in your budget. Have a dedicated line item 
for accommodations in your budget to ensure you have money 
available to meet the needs of victims with disabilities and 
Deaf victims. Some law enforcement agencies receive funding 
to provide accommodations through other agencies within their 
unit of government. Others apply for funding in partnership with 
non-governmental organizations. 





Develop partnerships 
Disability and Deaf service organizations can provide a wealth of 
information, including how to increase a personÕs access to safety, 
and identify community resources from which your agency can rent 
or buy equipment to support communication or mobility, such as a 
medical supply company and/or a company that provides accessible 
transportation. They can also help you review and strengthen your 
accommodations policy and help your agency build relationships 
with the disability and Deaf communities. Establishing a connection 
with sign language interpreting agencies or individual interpreters 
will help agency personnel more quickly fill interpreter requests. 

3

PREPARING TO PROVIDE ACCOMMODATIONS | Recommendations for Law Enforcement Agencies







Train agency personnelOnce you have created or enhanced your policy, train agency 
personnel on how it has changed, why, and how to implement 
it. It can also be helpful to include basic information about how 
to work with victims with disabilities and Deaf people, such as 
common barriers to safety and justice, types of disabilities, disability 
terminology, best practices for interviewing crime victims with 
disabilities, and understanding Deaf culture. Disability or Deaf 
service organizations may be able to provide this training for your 
agency or support the development of training for officers and 
other agency personnel. 

Monitor and re-assessAfter you have implemented your accommodations policy, create 
a plan to regularly monitor its effectiveness. Develop a strategy 
that allows your agency to check in with victims who have received 
accommodations and personnel who have provided them about 
what does and does not work. Track how many and what type of 
accommodation requests your agency receives. This information 
will help your agency strengthen its policy and protocols and more 
accurately budget for accommodations in the future.

1 Erika Harrell, Crime Against Persons with Disabilities, 2009Ð2014 - Statistical Tables (Washington, DC: U.S. Department of 
Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2016).
2 Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990, Pub. L. No. 101-336, 104 Stat. 328 (1990).

This document was produced by the Vera Institute of Justice Center on Victimization and Safety under Award # 2016-XV-GX-K015, 
awarded by the Office for Victims of Crime, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice. The opinions, findings, and 
conclusions or recommendations expressed in this document are those of the contributors and do not necessarily represent the 
official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.

To learn more about providing accommodations, 
visit reachingvictims.org/resource/just-ask.



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Quick Response Code: reachingvictims.org/resource/just-ask