Autistic adults and their experiences with police personnel: a qualitative inquiry

Abstract

This study uses a qualitative methodological approach to investigate the experiences that autistic adults have when encountering police personnel. An anonymous, online, semi-structured survey asking open-ended questions about individual experience was used, and the data were analysed thematically. Although only five participants comprised the final sample, the findings illustrate how – despite differences in types of interaction and police contact – similar experiences were reported. Almost all participants reported experiencing a negative interaction with police, coupled with a limited understanding of the events surrounding their encounter. Four participants experienced some form of being stopped and questioned. This study aims to examine alternative perspectives, as previous research has focused on criminal justice personnel perspectives rather than autistic perspectives. This is one of a few qualitative Australian studies to seek individualised experiences from a community-based sample. Sampling and recruitment strategies need revision to attain a larger number of surveys in future research.

Keywords:

• autism
• experience
• police interactions
• difficulties
• criminal justice
• law enforcement
• difficulties

Acknowledgements

I would like to acknowledge the Cooperative Research Centre for Living with Autism (Autism CRC), Autism SA and Autism West for assisting in dispersing the survey information on their platforms. I would also like to acknowledge Murdoch and Curtin University Equity Services for their assistance. Without these organisations, this study would not have been possible. I would like to thank my supervisor Associate Professor Guy Hall for his support and academic assistance throughout my Honours studies and in producing this journal article.

Ethical standards

Declaration of conflict of interests

Sophia Calton has declared no conflicts of interest.

Guy Hall has declared no conflicts of interest.

Ethical approval

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the Murdoch University Human Research Ethics Committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

Informed consent

Informed consent was obtained by all participants included in this study.

Notes

1 The present study uses identity-first terminology. By placing the positive pronoun in front of the noun, identity-first terminology highlights how an individual’s autism is a part of their identity and denotes a sense of membership within a community (Kenny et al., 2016). There is no universally accepted term, and therefore it is argued that it is important to endorse the preferred terminologies held by autistic persons themselves. As autistic voices are under-represented in the literature, it is important to recognise the terminology preferences of the autistic community wherever possible (Botha et al., 2021; Milton & Bracher, 2013). Thus, terms such as autistics, autistic persons and autistic individuals are used in this paper, as well as individuals on the autism spectrum. Referring to autistic individuals as autistic is supported as the most preferred term by the autistic community, along with autistic individual and person on the autism spectrum (Botha et al., 2021; Kenny et al., 2016). However, we acknowledge that terminology preferences differ on individual and group levels, as well as between health professionals, academics and members of the autistic community (Autism CRC, n.d.; Botha et al., 2021; Bury et al., 2020; Kenny et al., 2016; Autistic Self Advocacy Network, 2009).