Exploring the autistic and police perspectives of the custody process through a participative walkthrough

Research suggests that autistic individuals may be more likely to come into contact with police and have more negative experiences in police custody. However, limited information about the difficulties they experience during the custody process is available.

This study explores the experiences of autistic individuals and officers during a walkthrough of the custody process to identify specific difficulties in these encounters and what support is needed to overcome these.

A participative walkthrough method was developed to provide autistic individuals and officers an interactive opportunity to identify areas where further support in the custody process was needed. Two autistic participants and three officers took part in the study.

Autistic participants reported negative experiences due to: i) the emotional impact of the physical setting and custody process ii) communication barriers leading to increased anxiety and iii) exposure to sensory demands. Officers highlighted three factors which limit their ability to support autistic individuals effectively: i) the custody context ii) barriers to communication and iii) knowledge and understanding of autism.

Adjustments are needed to the custody process and environment to support interactions between autistic individuals and officers and improve the overall wellbeing of autistic individuals.