Summary
What are Police Passports and links to some examples.
POLICE PASSPORT
What a police passport is and looks like varies from area to area but should have the same aim wherever you are. The aim of a police passport is to ensure that if police are called out to support you or your child, they will be aware of you/your Childs autism and so not do things to escalate e.g. touch someone oversensitive to touch.
In my area in Bristol, our scheme is called the Safe-Places Scheme and also includes a number that someone can ring if they need police support. I imagine this could be really helpful for parents whose children have run away, got lost, or might be expressing physical behaviours that might harm parents or siblings. I’ve been informed that the way this works is: you have a number you ring and a regular police officer gets sent but they are informed on their way to you of what to and not to do.
The police passport scheme Bristol/Avon: https://www.avonandsomerset.police.uk/apply/safe-places-scheme/
Here’s a link to a template from Sussex: https://amazesussex.org.uk/amaze_news/new-sussex-police-autism-passport-now-downloadable/
UPDATE: Since this article was published I found a link to a list of each scheme in each area!
It’s here: https://www.npaa.org.uk/alert-card-schemes/
Hopefully, the above templates are useful to you. You can also make your own 1-2 page document that you could physically hand to the police. I’ve had my own negative experiences of police being inappropriate to autistic people so the idea of giving them information about myself scares me. In my work with other families and patients in hospitals, I have found many incidences of police being helpful and saving lives. Any interaction with a police officer that uses force towards an autistic person could leave lasting trauma, so for some, a police passport may prevent that.
If you want to hear more from me you can check out my YouTube here: youtube.com/@LorenSnow and my website here: www.lorensnow.com
I’m also one of the BAS trainers and if you want to learn more from me you can sign up for one of our courses here: https://www.bristolautismsupport.org/support-blocks/
