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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

  • Maybe they're being led into crime by "friends" who are really using them as fall guys and scape goats? We know how desperately we can feel the need to fit in is, if the only people who don't shun you are "criminals" then what do you do? How many people, especially the young and vulnerable, can make the sort of judgment calls not to get involved in low level criminality and anti-social behavious? I wonder how many young people who are marginalised already don't end up feeling they might as well be hung for a sheep as a lamb? I know I did, if you're going to punished anyway you might as well make it worth your while.

    I imagine it could be frustrating as a police officer, to have someone who's vulnerable, possibly clinically so, who dosen't have the capacity to see why what they're doing is wrong, or why they should trust you and the rest of society?

  • in reply to TheCatWoman
    TheCatWoman said:
    Maybe they're being led into crime by "friends" who are really using them as fall guys and scape goats?

    There is another common pathway to autists being law breakers and that is them not agreeing with the rules.

    I used to have a problem with some of my team who in retrospect I could see were autistic and they would refuse to follow rules that they thought were stupid. It could be work rules or laws - for example they would willingly pirate music because they said "I would never buy the album so the artist isn't losing out", ditto for films etc.

    I suspect over time many of these people will fall foul of the law.

    Likewise with the communication difficulties, I can see an autist with a strong opinion on a subject making a social media post that will have the plod at their door the next morning for daring to speak out against some group that has influence.

    The shift from police action against violent criminals to softer targets like social media users means they are getting more "wins" and the stats look good. 

  • in reply to Iain
    Iain said:
    The shift from police action against violent criminals to softer targets like social media users means they are getting more "wins" and the stats look good. 

    Agree 100%

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