This scientific poster discusses the 1 in 5 young adults who had ever been stopped and questioned by police.
Individuals on the autism spectrum may be at risk for criminal justice involvement due to differences in social communication skills and behavioral characteristics. Learn key statistics from the National Autism Indicators Report.
Drexel examines safety and risk behaviors such as bullying involvement during the high school years, wandering, and criminal justice involvement using statistics from the National Autism Indicators Report.
Young adults with autism have a difficult time following high school for almost any outcome you choose – working, continuing school, living independently, socializing and participating in the community, and staying healthy and safe. To complicate matters, many of these youth begin their journey into adulthood by stepping off a services cliff. Access to needed supports and services drops off dramatically after high school – with too many having no help at all.
The Pennsylvania Developmental Disabilities Council (DDC) has identified barriers that prevent persons with disabilities from receiving due process and equal justice in the criminal justice system. This position paper will discuss some of these barriers and offer recommendations for change. The paper addresses those who enter the criminal justice system as victims or witnesses, as accused or convicted offenders , or as criminal justice workers. While it does not specifically address mental health issues, we note that people with mental illness face many of the same barriers.
Many persons with autism encounter criminal justice practitioners over the course of their lives, just as neurotypical persons do. The following policy analysis draws upon innovation in a single jurisdiction – Pennsylvania – requiring mandatory autism training for magisterial district court judges (MDJ’s) to explore the policy diffusion potential of this innovation to juvenile courts in other jurisdictions and to other levels of the Pennsylvania judiciary.