Source · IOPC Learning Case

Recommendations - Metropolitan Police Service, May 2023

Metropolitan Police Service Ref: 2021/162496 Recommended 16 May 2023 Response due 11 Jul 2023

Welfare and vulnerable people

We identified organisational learning from a review of a local investigation by the Metropolitan Police Service into a complaint of use of force and discrimination involving a man diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). The officers’ failure to adapt their response to the man’s needs left him believing he received less favourable treatment.

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Recommendations

2 total

Recommendation 1

The IOPC recommends that Metropolitan Police Service should take steps to ensure that its police officers are adapting their response to incidents involving autistic people, including communicating effectively and with understanding to avoid preventable escalation and unnecessary trauma. This recommendation follows a review of a local investigation by MPS into a complaint of use of force and discrimination involving an autistic man. The officers involved stated they had not received formal training on how to appropriately interact with autistic people and that written information provided by the force is insufficient and ineffective. The officers’ failure to adapt their response to meet the man’s needs left him believing that he received less favourable treatment due to his disability.

Addressed to: Metropolitan Police Service

Linked bodies: Metropolitan Police Service

Accepted

Force response

Recommendation accepted: The Metropolitan Police Service welcomes the recommendation and will now begin taking the appropriate steps to ensure the following: Formal training for all front line police officers on - awareness, this will aid officers to adapt appropriately when faced with responding to incidents involving people with non-visible disabilities and/or learning difficulties which may not initially be present when interacting with members of the public . A review of current Metropolitan Police procedures to explore areas requiring practices to be adapted to avoid breaches of the Equality’s Act

Recommendation 2

The IOPC recommends that Metropolitan Police Service work with their National Police Autism Association (NPAA) representative(s) or appropriate subject matter expert(s) to undertake a debrief with the police officers who responded to an incident involving an autistic man to understand what could have been done differently to avoid preventable escalation and unnecessary trauma. This recommendation follows a review of a local investigation by MPS into a complaint of use of force and discrimination involving an autistic man. The officers’ failure to adapt their response to meet the man’s needs left him believing that they he received less favourable treatment owing to their disability.

Addressed to: Metropolitan Police Service

Linked bodies: Metropolitan Police Service

Accepted

Force response

Recommendation accepted: The Metropolitan Police Service welcomes the recommendation and will now begin taking the appropriate steps outlined above and include the HR Senior Diversity and Inclusion advisor to be made aware of any further incidents of similar nature requiring debriefs outlined above. In relation to this specific incident and as a result of this recommendation both the officers involved were subject to the MPS Learning Through Reflection process on the 9th February 2023 and each officer had a personal meeting with a member of the NPAA and spoke through ways of dealing with people with autism. It was suggested to look at the bigger picture rather than the problem resented to them and to thoroughly write original notes on their thought processes on why options were used at the time and why even if not appropriate on option was used as there were no other appropriate options available.