Criminal justice systems and practices

Criminal Justice Issues

ADA and Criminal Justice Agencies - in the United States, the 1990 American's with Disabilities Act (ADA) was a huge step forward in Civil and Individual Rights that protects against discrimination and requires access to all public organizations. To broaden this, the ADA Amendments Act of 2008 (ADAAA) includes a major list of life activities and enhances the requirements for accessibility. Political and social changes after the Americans With Disabilities and other political changes have allowed people with differences to be more apparent in society as well as taking a more interactive role in all phases of society. Individuals in wheelchairs or with prosthesis interact with sight or hearing impaired individuals, and integrate with people of all walks of life in public and private buildings. The political and social structure -- requiring that these individuals have full access to all of society's basic standards, also result in the curriculum change necessary to both understand and embrace those differences within the school system (O'Brien 2004).

Broadly defined, an individual has a disability if they have something physical or mental that prevents them from engaging in a major activity that most people take for granted. The law already addresses equal employment opportunities, (Title 1 of the ADA), but other parts of the ADA are more focused to what is known as "reasonable accommodation." This means that if an individual is otherwise qualified for a position, their disability, or impairment, must not be a factor in being hired, promoted, or otherwise actualized within the position. For criminal justice, just as for other businesses, this translates into making reasonable accommodations -- modifying facilities, schedules, equipment or policies. However, and this is key, providing these accommodations is not required by law if it causes the organization undue hardship, which could be budgetary, logistical, or organizational. if, for instance, a building has 500 employees, 1 of whom qualified under the ADA. This employee needs a special and unique doorway to get into their particular office. This is a reasonable accommodation that should be accomplished without due hardship or budgetary issues. However, if that same employee required not only one door, but a special elevator, transportation, a schedule that meant they could not perform duties as needed by the public, and equipment that would cost several hundred thousand dollars, it is likely this would not fall under the ADA (Russell, 1992). The key is reasonable and the law is meant to enhance, not detract from the performance of a particular job. It is also designed to protect individuals who have unique skills from being excluded because of their disability.