Autism restraint ruling prompts call for police training
Gabriella Jozwiak
Friday, February 15, 2013
Special educational needs (SEN) campaigners are calling for an urgent overhaul of police training, after the Court of Appeal ruled that officers breached the human rights of a young autistic boy when they restrained him.
The boy, who has autism and epilepsy, had been on a "familiarisation visit" to a public swimming baths in West London with his special school, when he broke away from the group and went to stand by the pool staring into the water. After 30 minutes the manager of the premises called the police.
The officers attending the scene failed to seek advice on how to handle the situation from the boy's carers, and inadvertently caused him to jump into the pool by touching him.
After he was pulled out, seven police officers restrained him before he was taken, still soaking wet, to the police van and detained. The restraint and detention lasted about 40 minutes.
The Equality and Human Rights Commission took on the boy's case, arguing that his treatment by the police had been inhuman and degrading, despite the fact the officers did not intentionally breach his human rights.
The Metropolitan Police appealed against a court ruling that said the officers subjected the boy to unlawful disability discrimination, assault and false imprisonment, and to treatment that breached his rights. But they lost their appeal.
Amanda Batten, director of external affairs at the National Autistic Society, said the case showed the police need better training in SEN and autism.
“Autism training is not routinely provided as part of police training in the UK despite the fact that the condition affects around one in 100 people,” she said.
“People with disabilities look to the police to protect them and it is vital that their needs and behaviours are understood and accounted for.
“Autism awareness and strategies should be standard in police training to ensure that policemen and women understand the needs of this section of society and can act appropriately.”
Her call was echoed by Sean Stockdale, spokesman for the National Association for Special Educational Needs (Nasen). “Children with special needs and or disabilities have lives that don’t just begin and end at the school gates so services need to adapt to their needs,” he said.
“Those professionals resistant to change would do well to remember that if they get their provision right for our most vulnerable groups they are more likely to get it right for everyone.”
Wendy Hewitt, deputy director of legal at the Equality and Human Rights Commission, said the police officers were acting in what they thought to be the best interests of the boy, but warned that they made “serious errors” causing him “great distress and anguish”.
“The police deal with many vulnerable people and must make arrangements to ensure that they make well-informed decision on how and when to restrain them, to avoid breaching their human rights obligations,” she said.
The judge awarded damages of £28,250 to the boy, including compensation for exacerbation of his epilepsy and for psychiatric damage.