1 In 6 People With Autism Interacted With Police Over 18-Month Period

In Ontario, Canada, over an 18-month observation, about one in six adolescents and adults with autism had an encounter with police. The observation included 284 participants, and about 16% had an encounter with police. Many encounters were related to the individuals’ aggressive behaviors. In about half of the interactions, the police response calmed the situation. In one-third of interactions, the police exacerbated the situation.

These findings were reported in “Correlates of Police Involvement Among Adolescents and Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder” by Ami Tint, Anna M. Palucka, Elspeth Bradley, Jonathan A. Weiss, and Yona Lunsky. The researchers asked . . .