Citation

Cooper D, Frisbie S, Wang S, Ventimiglia J, Gibbs V, Love AMA, Mogavero M, Benevides TW, Hyatt JM, Hooven K, Basketbill I, Shea L. Autism Res. 2024; ePub(ePub): ePub.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2024, John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1002/aur.3203

PMID

39104243

Abstract

Research has demonstrated that autistic individuals have higher rates of police contact, however, research has seldom explored the fundamental reasons for these interactions and how this might vary across international contexts. To remedy this, the Global Autism and Criminal Justice Consortium created and disseminated the Global Criminal Justice Survey. Descriptive statistics of survey respondents with and without police contact were compared to glean differential characteristics. Frequency and type of recent police interactions (within the last 5 years) among autistic individuals were also examined to better contextualize the reasons that autistic individuals encounter police. Study findings indicated that across a global sample (i.e., North America, Scandinavia, Europe, and Oceania) nearly half of all autistic individuals had an interaction with police and that those with a history of police contact were usually older, had higher educational qualifications, and were more likely to have a co-occurring mental health or developmental disorder. Among types of interactions, noncriminal encounters, such as welfare checks, traffic incidents, wandering, and behaviors associated with autism, were most common, followed by autistic individuals alleging a crime was committed against them. These findings offer important directions for future research and for targeted policy responses that can address the unique needs of autistic individuals within the justice system.

Language: en

Keywords

survey; autism; criminal justice; international; police