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Half of people recently arrested by Met police may have undiagnosed ADHD, study finds

Iain

From the article: https://www.theguardian.com/society/2025/dec/10/half-people-recently-arrested-met-police-undiagnosed-adhd-neurodivergence-study 

Half of people arrested recently in London were found to potentially have undiagnosed ADHD, according to a study calling for better neurodivergence screening for vulnerable individuals.

Research by the University of Cambridge found that one in two individuals arrested and detained over an eight-week period in London in 2024 may have undiagnosed attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and one in 20 may have undiagnosed autism.

I'm in two minds if this is a good thing.

On one hand having the police know you are neurodivergent can make their interaction with you easier (assuming they are using the NAS guide written for them) but on the other it is hinting that neurodivergent people are quite likely to be arrested so will be profiled as suspicious.

What are your thoughts on this?

Parents

  • I feel police need to do some further training (always!) as what we know about being autistic/ADHD is that other people find us odd. For police this can mean to difference between arresting them or cautioning. How many did they decide to arrest because the 'suspect' got confused at bright lights being shone in their faces and having people shout loudly at them. Because they avoided eye connect and so we're suspicious? Because they were told to be still but kept fidgeting and moving? They became distressed and melted down? 

    I can see what the outcome is most likely to be.

    Note: I am not suggestion they haven't done wrong, just the difference in how a small encounter might play out.

  • in reply to Cinnabar_wing

    There are a lot of people in the police who are autistic and ADHD themselves so I don’t think it’s a big worry that they will automatically scapegoat or stereotype people based on this and will take it into consideration in the future. I think there has been a big drive on this in the past year anyway especially in terms of the increase in diagnosis. I would trust the police to do the right things and also remember that it isn’t the actual police who chase prosecutions and make the decisions against people. I think this was potentially more of a problem 20 years ago 

  • in reply to kiwipip

    You are right, I think I was getting a little 'newspaper-y'. 

Reply Children
  • in reply to Cinnabar_wing

    Yeah and I’ve definitely experienced somebody with PDA…. I think I’m quite relaxed for somebody with ASD. I think it’s because I grew up in a large family though and a supportive one too. My ex partner is undiagnosed ASD and 100% has this 

  • in reply to kiwipip

    Yes so whereas unpredictable is meant to stand for,  'could do things differently', it is also perceived as 'potentially dangerous.'  I can see that you have to be so careful with which words are used in training material to make sure you don't accidentally instill the wrong notion of how to deal with an autistic person.

    If you are someone that dissociates in conflicts, then you may become unresponsive and 'not do as instructed?' as well as someone who might have PDA and find it difficult and become aggressive to simple request?

  • in reply to Cinnabar_wing

    One of the worst things I think is and even on this side of things —- autistic people are described as “unpredictable behaviour” and unfortunately that terminology has a lot of negative connotations attached to it. I’m unpredictable as in one day I’ll randomly take myself on holiday and other days I’ll only go certain places at certain scheduled times. I’m probably quite relaxed and if anything I’ll take myself off for time out and cry in my bed. I think this terminology often suggests that if anything autistic person is presented with a stressful situation they may become violent or unstable which I think is totally wrong and definitely stereotyping and that terminology needs to be changed to be something more understandable and relatable …. But also what humans out there are predictable that often?!