design so results can be generalized beyond the scope of this study 2) improvement of the

MHCS instrument, 3) exploration of factors that will contribute to the prediction of the

differences observed in this study.

 Sample. First, a larger, more representative sample would allow for replication of

the results in this study and for the results of future studies to be generalized beyond the

Alachua County Sheriff s department. Future studies should also increase the sample size

for the regression analysis to have sufficient power to detect a relationship between the

predictor and outcome variables.

Perpetrator profile. Greater insight into the perpetrators of hate crimes against a person

with a disability is needed. Approximately 200 hate crimes have been reported through

2003. A qualitative analysis of court documents such as depositions, investigative reports,

etc. could provide some insight into whether the perpetrators fit one more of the profiles

reported by McDevitt, Levin and Bennett (2002) or whether a different profile exists,

similar to the perpetrators of parallel crimes against people with disabilities. Perpetrator

information of this kind is a necessary precursor to formal law enforcement officer

training. Moreover, the validity of gender and disability bias crime items require a deeper

understanding of the contributing factors of bias crime classification in those cases and an

exploration of how they differ from race, religion, and sexual orientation bias crimes.

 Research design. As mentioned previously, of the 126 participants who answered

the questions concerning training, 81% reported participating in training on disability

issues and yet only 54% reported participating in training on the investigation of a hate

crime. Clearly, there is a need for further training with the Alachua County Sheriffs

department on the investigation of hate crimes. Moreover, an experimental design such as