Neurodiversity in the workplace – a police perspective

Neurodiversity is a generally accepted umbrella term that includes many conditions and differences associated with brain, spinal and nervous functions, affecting cognitive development divergent from the typical.

More than 600 neurological conditions are covered by this term, including attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism, traumatic brain injury (TBI), acquired brain injury (ABI) motor disorders, stroke, migraine disorders, and learning difficulties and disabilities (LDD) and more.

Research suggests around 20% of the entire population are neurodivergent, although this is not reflected in today’s workforce. A UK Office for National Statistics study in 2020 found that only 22% of autistic adults are in employment, while according to Doyle and Headway (2020) just 53.6% of disabled people are currently in work, compared to 81.7% of those who are not disabled.

While there are many types of neurodivergent conditions, and each person will present differently with different strengths and weaknesses, there is often overlap between conditions (known as co-morbidity or co-occurrence).

It is very common that if someone has one neurodiverse condition, they are more likely to have at least one other, which itself can cause further complication and shows the likelihood of variance between individuals with the same diagnosis.

However, in general neurodivergence is about the brain working and thinking differently to that of neurotypical people. Although at times this can make life harder for the individual, the ability to think differently can be of real benefit.

Equality and diversity

Diversity in any sense should be seen as a strength for organisations, including policing. We are not all the same, customers are not all the same, and there is not always one answer to any given problem.

Many neurodiverse individuals are in a unique position to address challenges in a way that others would not, because they think differently.

Having people who think differently and can give different perspectives and opinions about problems and challenges will also lead to different solutions, and enable an organisation to be more creative and innovative in tackling those challenges.

Recruiting neurodiverse individuals can have huge benefits for an employer; an inclusive neurodiverse company can be more productive, more innovative, and more reflective of its consumer base.

Neurodivergent individuals also commonly hold highly specialised skills, which can also prove beneficial, especially for policing. Some individuals may excel in areas such as forensics, where their heightened focus and attention to detail may help them to notice things that others may miss. Noticing patterns of behaviour is also a great trait that is necessary as a detective.

The Center for Disease Control (CDC) reported that 44% of autistic individuals have average to above-average intelligence (CDC, 2016). Other research has noted that subgroups within autism may have exceptionally high levels of intelligence.

When considering diversity therefore, it is important to examine your recruitment procedures and your organisational environment to determine whether it is supportive of neurodiversity.

In relation to equality, it is also worth noting that women are more disproportionately affected by the wider impact of neurodivergence; overall, women are more likely to take on caring roles than men, and of the 6.5 million unpaid carers in the UK 58% – 3.34 million – are women.

With this in mind, organisations need to have policies in place that support everyone – including individuals with neurodiversity and other conditions – and extend this supportive approach to helping carers, enabling more women to thrive in the workplace.

Workplace measures

So what steps can organisation take to attract neurodivergent colleagues into the workplace, and support and retaining them once they have joined the organisation?

Recruitment: Many of the organisational and environmental measures highlighted below apply equally to recruitment, but one area that is crucial to address is affinity bias. This is the unconscious bias in which people gravitate towards others who appear similar to them.

Falling into the affinity bias trap can result in neurodivergent candidates being overlooked (both in recruitment and promotion), simply because they have a different working or communication style to those running the process.

But these candidates can still make effective team members and team leaders, and remember, a more diverse workforce is likely to generate a wider range of opinions and more creative ideas for business solutions.

Neurodiversity training for managers: A simple step, but one which will ensure all managers can get the best from their staff, and everyone can be themselves in a supportive work environment.

Neurodiversity champions and support groups: Accessible advice or guidance in every department, from colleagues with personal experience of neurodivergence such as trained champions, can create valuable support, as can neurodiversity support groups made up of peers. ‘Lunch and learn’ specialist talks on neurodiversity topics and conditions will also help to raise awareness and understanding.

Reasonable adjustment: Organisations should look to make reasonable adjustments to the working environment where possible. This is clearly easier to manage for office-based staff than it is for frontline police officers, but this does not mean that neurodiverse officers should be put on desk duties, given the skills that we know many neurodiverse individuals possess.

Where modifications can be made to working environments to offer the widest possible support, these can include a range of measures to reduce stimulus such as dimming lights, using quieter, less-busy spaces, decluttering walls, and considering the colour of rooms; setting up a ‘sensory room’ as a calm, safe space where individuals can go to decompress; and zoning off ‘concentration’ areas or using dividers to give people quiet space. Additionally, it’s crucial for employers to address and prevent workplace harassment of a protected class, creating a safe and inclusive environment for all employees.

Sensory items: Sensory items can be made available in break-out areas and meeting rooms, while fidget items (cubes, spinners and tangles), foam footballs and stress balls, colouring books, puzzles, cards, crosswords and word searches, could be made available in the rest areas.

Physical aids: Equipment such as tinted glasses, earplugs, headphones and ear defenders can help neurodivergent staff; communication aids such as cards and signs for desks maybe used to indicate ‘Do not disturb’ or ‘come and chat’.

Communication adjustments: Organisations can consider introducing a range of these, such as offering verbal explanations as alternative to written instructions, or holding a daily stand-up briefing which may present an opportunity for people to ask questions and confirm their understanding.

Consider using assisted technology such as text to speech for writing up reports and other clerical functions; explain and check for comprehension; and summarise instructions or follow up verbal instructions with written instructions such as emails

Use ‘plain English’ terminology and avoid sarcasm, ambiguous phrases and abstract language; provide ‘easy read’ versions of documents, and dyslexia-friendly materials or aids such as different fonts, coloured paper and overlays; and introduce simple changes an equipment as standard, such as magnifiers, reading rulers and digital clocks.

Adjust working patterns: Consider flexible or adjusted shift start and finish times.

Consult: Meet with team members regularly to discuss career development and aspirations.

Look for potential: Ability and potential can sometimes be overlooked in those for whom self-promotion does not come naturally; as a manager it is important to guide all of your staff who have the ability and potential towards opportunities to develop, such as attachments, acting/temporary promotion and mentoring.

Always inclusive: Extend the supportive approach to all work-related activities, and ensure that social events are inclusive for everyone.

Caring for carers

It is also important to have policies that consider staff who may be carers. There are many parents with children who are neurodiverse and who would benefit from flexible working and other appropriate adjustments, to allow them to be able to best support the individuals that they care for, while thriving at work.

Many employees are also in the ‘sandwich generation’, sandwiched between caring for their own children and at the same time caring for elderly parents or other relatives.

This caring role is often more pronounced in minority groups, where woman are expected to undertake the caring role. This needs to be considered in all diversity initiatives that any organisation may undertake.

Approaches to training

Neurodivergent staff can face particular challenges in training situations. When organisations run training sessions, they may want to consider the following points:

• Advance preparation so that participants know what to expect, ie clear instructions of where and when, what will be covered and what the students will need to bring, or read up on in advance; send them reminders of the training, and if the session is going to be held at a different venue to the normal place of work, you may want to consider meeting at the workplace first and escorting them there, or having a pre-visit to the venue so that they can get familiar with it.
• The option to attend in person, online, in smaller groups or one-to-one sessions for in-person training.
• Individual support/peer support in classroom situations.
• Breaking material into shorter sections and give regular breaks.
• Summarise main points and give handouts with the main points on.
• Consider the time of day for programmes and appointments.
• Avoid making people wait around.
• Give positive feedback and celebrations of progress.
• Adjusting the room layout/environment according to the students’ needs and offering a ‘time out’ option; you may need to make adjustments for exams, give extra time, and have someone to explain questions.
• Using voice notes as an alternative to written text, make use of visual/tactile learning activities and use visual aids, drawings.

What does this mean for policing?

The issues around neurodiversity are somewhat more complicated for policing, as not only should we be considering them from an employer’s perspective and ensuring that we support our staff (often harder in a reactive organisation where you cannot control the environment), but we also need to think about frontline policing in relation to aspects of neurodiversity.

So, as well as training managers on how to support staff and colleagues, it’s important that all frontline police officers are trained in neurodiversity, to improve their service to the public.

For instance, someone who is neurodiverse may present differently, with lack of eye contact a typical trait of autism; awareness of that fact can help to ensure we judge situations on evidence and fact only, not on ‘feelings and impressions, such as someone looking ‘shifty’ for not making eye contact.

Police officers need to be aware of the possible vulnerabilities of neurodiverse individuals and be sensitive to these. We need to be aware of vulnerabilities and the victim-offender overlap, and be mindful of how we respond to crime scenes and that the offender may also be the victim.

It’s important to understand neurodiversity and how it can affect an individual’s response to orders and actions during interactions with the police.

Sensory overload can lead to physical resistance, which may be wrongly interpreted by some officers as resistance or a lack of compliance. This can result in the use of force, which could exacerbate rather than resolve the incident and lead to an individual or officer being harmed, undermine confidence in the police and criminalise neurodiversity.

Neurodiversity in the CJS

The review of Neurodiversity in the criminal justice system highlighted some of the difficulties that neurodivergent people may have when dealing with the police and wider criminal justice system, and how they may be more disadvantaged then their neurotypical counterparts.

The review sites the reason for this as: “The behaviour of neurodivergent people may not be recognised as a manifestation of their condition, or may be misinterpreted, which could make them more likely to be arrested, and diversion away from custody and the CJS may not be considered.”

Furthermore, the report states: “The custody environment could also be unsettling to a neurodivergent person. This could lead them to exhibit behaviours which are interpreted as non-compliant and may mean they do not receive the support they need.”

The review found that that “neurodivergence is more prevalent in the CJS than in the wider community” and suggests neurodivergent individuals may not fully understand the processes involved; without appropriate support, they may not be able to effectively engage with the investigation.

They may plead guilty inappropriately (based on their neurodivergent thinking or compliant behaviour, for example), and their neurodivergence may not be considered in sentencing decisions; they may also be less likely to understand or comply with the requirements of a community order.

Additional studies have suggested that neurological conditions are reportedly three times more predominant in the CJS than in the general population, and that 39% of adults in police custody have different neurological or mental health conditions, with autism is seen in significantly high numbers.

Police cannot overlook the potential for vulnerabilities brought about by an individual’s neurodiverse condition to cause them to become involved in crime in the first place, and in such cases we need to be mindful of the victim offender overlap.

County lines drug dealing is one example of how a victim can be an offender with cases of vulnerable individuals being ‘groomed’ for criminal activity far too common.

In its definition of county lines, the UK Government notes: “They are likely to exploit children and vulnerable adults to move and store the drugs and money and they will often use coercion, intimidation, violence (including sexual violence) and weapons.

“County lines activity and the associated violence, drug dealing and exploitation has a devastating impact on young people, vulnerable adults and local communities.”

It is therefore critical that frontline police officers and custody officers receive training, to help them understand neuro-diverse conditions and the effects on individuals and how this may impact their behaviour, so that they can respond to and support appropriately.

The Brain Charity recommends three bespoke training packages:

• a general awareness raising session for all staff
• operational training session that can be delivered to named support staff
• neurodiversity champions and those with direct case management responsibilities.

It suggests that these should be delivered in the service area face-to-face, and encourages staff to engage in practical workshops and problem-solving exercises.

It is also worth emphasising the importance of partnership working, to give a holistic approach and support, both to prevent the likelihood of a person with neurodiversity who may be vulnerable to getting involved in crime, and to rehabilitate and reduce the likelihood of re-offending. The police and local authority need to work in partnership to provide support, not just enforcement.

Picture © Vitalii Vodolazskyi / Shutterstock