Autism & Stop and Search
Disclaimer: Any views, opinions and tips represented on this blog are personal and belong solely to myself (Kyra) and don’t represent the views of any affiliated professionals and organisations. Additionally, I’m not a professional advisor regarding Autism and the content produced on this blog is solely from my own experiences.
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I knew that stop and search is a significant problem within racialised communities, but I didn’t know that being Autistic further increased my chance of experiencing this.
During my birthday trip to London, I experienced being checked by security guards on multiple occasions at shops and attractions. I know that searching is required for security reasons, but it’s questionable to be stopped for having the same luggage and physical characteristics as someone who was not stopped.
According to the GOV website, there are 27.2% stop-and-search searches for every 1,000 Black individuals in the UK, Whereas, Rava et al. found that Autistic individuals are more likely to be stopped and searched by the police than they are to be arrested or convicted with a crime.
Today, I wanted to share something that myself and other Black Autistics have experienced. It’s an extension of my previous blog post, Black and Autistic, which largely focused on my experience as a Black Autistic woman. I hope by sharing my experience that more Black Autistic and Autistic people of colour come out to share their experiences of being stopped and searched.
Stop and Search Experience
In new environments, I easily become nervous due to the unfamiliarity of the environment which requires me to experience things out of my control. This includes worrying about whether I appear as “normal” and how to interact with those in the environment.
Many Autistics find it difficult to adapt to changes in their environments as a consistent routine provides us with predictability, in which we know what to expect in familiar environments. As a result, we may display “nervous” characteristics such as fidgeting and nervous glances to both soothe and reassure ourselves that we’re operating appropriately in an unfamiliar environment.
Unfortunately, many of our “nervous” characteristics are interpreted as suspicious by authority figures such as the police and security guards, leading to them completing further inspections of us. For example, when I entered a popular attraction, one security guard made constant eye contact due to my nervous glances towards him. Although I knew my nervous glances resulted from his behaviour and believing that I was acting inappropriately (non-neurodivergent) in the attraction, he later attempted to complete a second security check after witnessing his colleague do so before.
This experience made me feel both angry and confused because firstly I know that I’m not a thief, but more importantly, it made me realise how much my character is judged based on how I portray myself in public. It made me feel more inclined to mask my Autistic behaviour so I could accommodate the needs of security guards (society itself).
Autism is referred to as a “hidden” disability, meaning that our qualities are more internalised rather than externalised to the public eye. Although we know our personal Autistic qualities, those who don’t know about Autism assume that our behaviour is…
Research has found that the police and other institutional personnel are often not trained in Autism and disability awareness (Chown, 2010). As a result, many Autistics are subjected to mishandling and misconduct by the police and other institutional personnel. For instance, a young Autistic girl was mishandled by the Metropolitan Police in custody for allegedly attempting to rob two boys at knifepoint.
What Next?
While institutions should first be trained in Autism to prevent future mishandling and misconduct towards the Autistic and neurodivergent community, there are ways to prepare for these incidences. Firstly, I would recommend carrying an Autism Alert Card. Not only are Autism Alert cards useful for informing the police and security guards that you have Autism, but it will also help you in other institutions such as hospitals and universities, as they’ll be able to accommodate better to your needs.
You can easily download or print the I am Autistic Alert Card through the National Autistic Society’s website here. These are free to download and use on your own accord.
There’s limited research on the intersectionality between race, disability and gender, and how it amplifies stereotypical images of specific groups, especially for Black Autistic women.