All South Australian police officers are to undertake autism training to broaden understanding when interacting with autistic people.
In a statement, South Australia Police (SAPOL) said the training would operate in partnership with Autism Spectrum Australia.
Director of Human Resources Service for SAPOL, Kim-Sherie Summers said the purpose of the training was to increase capability of officers to recognise signs of autism and to effectively interact with autistic people.
“There are around 25,000 adults and children on the autism spectrum in South Australia, so as a police officer, you can expect to interact with autistic people on a regular basis,” Ms Summers said.
“SAPOL’s vision is for safer communities, where each member of the public regardless of ability or disability feels safe and respected,” she said.
“This vision is supported by SAPOL’s Disability Access and Inclusion Plan 2020-2024.”
Ms Summers said the online autism training module was developed by the Aspect Research Centre for Autism Practice, the research arm of the nation’s largest autism-specific service provider, Autism Spectrum Australia (Aspect).
Lead researcher at the Aspect Research Centre for Autism Practice, Vicki Gibbs said the module was the result of research findings that showed that a large proportion of autistic people living in Australia reported challenging interactions with police, which was often attributed to misunderstanding of the autistic person’s behaviour or communication.
Ms Gibbs said researchers developed the module in partnership with autistic people, using their life experience and wisdom to shape and guide the training.
“As part of the training module, police officers virtually interact with a number of different scenarios that could involve interacting with an autistic person and encounter ‘typical’ behaviours of an autistic person,” she said.
“These scenarios could range from routine traffic stops to identifying and managing a ‘melt down’.”
SAPOL’s 16-page Disability Access and Inclusion Plan 2020-2024 can be accessed at this PS News link.
