Autistic people and their families: calls to the police

Purpose Autistic people and their families sometimes have difficulties that require help from the police, but little is known about their contacts with police. This study aims to examine first contacts from autistic people and their families with the police. Design/methodology/approach In this study, in one typical city in England, a database that records all calls to the police (over a period of approximately two months) was analysed to examine the extent to which the calls concerned autistic people. Findings It was found that 2% (n = 78) of the total of 3,654 calls concerned autistic people and their families. About half of the cases related to autistic children and half to autistic adults, with family members being the most frequent callers to the police. In over a quarter of the cases, the calls concerned missing persons, and in about one sixth, they involved the need for support and a similar number involved disputes (usually within the family). The calls were significantly different from non-autistic calls to the police. Research limitations/implications Despite some limitations, for example that the authors were not able to interview the autistic people and their families, these data provide the first snapshot of autistic people’s initial contacts with the police. Practical implications There was clearly unmet need in the community for support for autistic people and their families, which the police were doing their best to provide. Social implications More community-based support is needed for autistic people and their families when urgent events occur (such as the autistic person going missing). Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to investigate autistic people and their families calls to the police, and it indicates considerable unmet need.