Police cadet general and interactional knowledge of persons with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs)

The purpose of this study is to ascertain law enforcement cadet general knowledge of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and practical knowledge in how to apply various aspects of their profession to persons with ASD.

In total, 341 law enforcement cadet surveys administered across ten individual law enforcement cadet classes were analyzed via two individual ordinary least squares (OLS) regression models. These regression models were designed to predict changes in cadet scores on their (1) general knowledge of autism scale (i.e., general knowledge regarding autism spectrum disorder itself) and (2) interactional law enforcement knowledge of autism scale (i.e., how to apply various aspects of their job to persons with ASD).

Findings show that cadets who had a stronger confidence in their ability to interact with persons who have ASD actually knew less than their counterparts with lower reported overall confidence. However, one's confidence in their ability to identify persons with ASD was associated with having better overall general knowledge of ASD itself. Similarly, the greater one's overall confidence in interacting with persons with ASD was associated with lower interactional knowledge. In each model, general autism knowledge and interactional knowledge were positively associated.

The results of this study have implications for cadet and officer training on ASD as each need to be trained in both general knowledge of autism and interactional autism knowledge skills related to the job functions of being a LEO. Policy implications and directions for future research are discussed.

The literature is sparse on law enforcement knowledge of and interaction with persons who have ASD. As such, this study has the potential to make a strong impact on the literature regarding law enforcement and their knowledge and/or interactions with persons who have ASD.