Are you afraid of being accused of a crime you didnt commit?

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The job of a criminal profiler seems so easy. Whenever a mysterious violent crime is committed just say "the suspect is white, a loner, and in his 30s."

Sometimes correct, like in the case of the Unabomber. Sometimes way off base, like in the case of the DC sniper(s).

When I turn 30 I better watch out.

Back when I was in middle school I was always the one accused whenever something happened and the teachers couldn't figure out who did it. I was different, and the other kids didn't like me, so I was the scapegoat. Ever since I've never been able to shake the feeling that I'm going to get accused of something so yes, I'm afraid of of being accused of a crime I didn't commit.

I wish I still had the link. I think I blogged it just before a website crash, so I can't find the darn thing anywhere. It was a few years ago just after something happened in London, and it was downright eerie what they decided was important to look for. (not just autistic people but a lot of people who are different in some way, would have fit the profile).

I take that back about not knowing where it is.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/co ... 01867.html

The police organization's behavioral profile says such a person might exhibit "multiple anomalies," including wearing a heavy coat or jacket in warm weather or carrying a briefcase, duffle bag or backpack with protrusions or visible wires. The person might display nervousness, an unwillingness to make eye contact or excessive sweating. There might be chemical burns on the clothing or stains on the hands. The person might mumble prayers or be "pacing back and forth in front of a venue."

Coat or heavy jacket in warm weather -- common in autistic people among others, for sensory reasons and/or absentmindedness.

Carrying a bag of some kind with protrusions or visible wires -- I have those often because I carry a communication device. This reminds me of the time someone found a box with wires sticking out at my dad's workplace (physics research place), and they got a bomb squad to go out and blow the thing up somewhere. And then an electrician came back from lunch and said, "Where did my equipment go?" And lots of autistic people are geeks, lots of geeks put things with wires in them all over. (Also they mention further down a belt used to detonate a suicide bomb -- lots of autistic people use communication devices that hook to the belt.)

Nervousness -- many autistic mannerisms are taken as nervousness even in non-nervous people.

Unwillingness to make eye contact -- obvious.

Excessive sweating -- not sure if that one's relevant, unless wearing the warm clothes or general nervousness causes it.

Chemical burns on the clothing or stains on the hands -- this can be a lot of things.

Mumble prayers -- if they're mumbled, you can't necessarily tell if they're praying or not. And lots and lots of autistic people mumble to themselves.

Pacing back and forth in front of a venue -- lots of autistic people pace in general.

So, only one or two of them seem like things that wouldn't be very common for autistic people, or otherwise neurologically atypical people, to do. The rest seem unnervingly common and anyone unusual and doing those things.. I just hope this is not widely adopted ever.

Also from the article:

The police group's guidelines also say the threat to officers does not have to be "imminent," as police training traditionally teaches. Officers do not have to wait until a suspected bomber makes a move, another traditional requirement for police to use deadly force. An officer just needs to have a "reasonable basis" to believe that the suspect can detonate a bomb, the guidelines say.

Then when discussing how and where to shoot:

"You need to get him dead as quick as possible," said Timoney, the Miami police chief. "The easiest way to do that is a head shot. That's the only way to guarantee. It's not something you relish. But if you shot him in the upper torso, that person would be able to make movements and make sure the bomb, if he had it, could go off. A body shot very seldom kills instantly."

In short yes I do fear, I also afraid that I might bake it by accident and then get in big trouble.

Here's something interesting I found from another board, a law professor says that he advised his clients not to talk to the police, even if they're innocent. A former police officer agrees with him in the second video.
http://www.tuccille.com/blog/2008/07/ei ... uldnt.html

Sometimes I'm afraid of being accused because it often happens to other people

I'm afraid of being accused of being myself. Not for doing anything, but just for being. If anyone had a clue, I'd be in a straight jacket for sure. (Pssst... don't tell anyone I come here. They can and will use it against me.)

That's scary. I accidentally insulted someone's hair once. She flew into a rage and started a campaign against me... I ended up getting fired from that job, based on the ravings of a single lunatic. I bet she could have passed a lie detector test.

I forgot about that part. I guess that makes me a little safer. (Just a little.)

Just another ignorant pig. Case closed.

I hate to admit it, but I did that once. I was maybe 22 years old. I didn't call anyone or do anything, but I followed a woman for a few blocks because I was worried about her. Looking back, she probably just had cerebral palsey or something. I just wanted to be sure she was ok.


Is there anything like the American Civil Liberties Union that we can call if something crazy like that happens?

I'm pretty much under constant fear of being falsely accused of something whenever I go out anyplace alone, to the point of border lining on agoraphobia. Don't like train stations anymore because of those terrorist-suspect related profile lists around that I tend to match pretty well (except for anything having to do with wires). I won't go to a store and search for something and if I don't find it, walk out... I always force myself to buy at least one thing, just out of fear if I leave empty-handed, somehow a guard will get me and accuse me of somehow cheating the alarm things at the door... which by the way, I dread walking through every single time thinking they'll go off. Luckily the people at my bank know me pretty well by now, but before that I was always scared they'd look at me, see me acting "different" and assume I were planning on robbing them. Pretty much, I always suspect people will fear the worst from me, and point the finger at me should I be at the wrong place at the wrong time.

Most of my excessive fear I'd traced to the simple fact that I'm unable to act "innocent", even when I am innocent! If my friends accuse me of making something up, somehow my body language always responds in such a way as to confirm their suspicions, even as I deny it truthfully. Then again sometimes I end up laughing over accusations like that, which makes my guilt seem much more evident. I simply cannot convince my body language to testify on my behalf; it always betrays me.

My anxiety isn't so bad as long as I'm out someplace with a friend or a family member; that way I feel like if I do get accused of anything, at least I've got a witness on my side to come to my defense.

Add "paranoia" to the list of charges against you.

ya im now into grouphome and cant get out until i finished my studies if i get meltdown they just restraint me in bed

What?
Is your background story around here somewhere?
At the risk of sounding nieve, isn't this false imprisonment?

It probably is, but false imprisonment seems to be totally legal when it comes to disabled people. (Who, not being criminals, don't need "due process"... or so the "logic" goes, as far as I can tell.)

Yes, I am afraid of being accused of a crime I didn't commit. My body language is nothing like NT body language, so naturally NTs misunderstand my body language and suspect me of doing something wrong. Me avoiding eye contact is misconstrued as dishonesty, guilt or hiding something. If confronted about something I have a hard time defending myself, I get nervous and my speech gets all jumbled up, so people suspect me of lying because I can't just look them in the eyes and tell them the truth straight out in a convincing way.

I have often had to go through extra thorough security checks at airports. My hand luggage gets searched every time (sometimes my checked in luggage too) and I'm asked all kinds of questions that they don't ask every passenger, but it has never happened to anyone else in my family. In shops security guards often follow me around or spy on me through shelves, because they think I'm going to steal something. Once when I was in a bank a couple in front of me was getting a large sum of cash and they looked worried that I was planning to rob them.

I hate walking through the alarm gates at stores and through weapon search at airports, out of fear that for some reason those things will go off and I'd be suspected or accused of a crime and not be able to defend myself and convince them of the truth.

In the past people have often been quick to dump the blame on me because they knew I couldn't defend myself adequately or convince anyone while my mouth says one thing and my body language says something completely different.

I have refrained from reporting abuse out of fear that nobody would believe the truth and that I'd be accused of lying and everyone would turn their backs on me, because it's my word against the abuser's words and who is going to believe the quiet, introverted emotionless weirdo who can't even look them in the eyes and who nobody really knows well, over the funny, charming extrovert who everybody thinks is cool and couldn't possibly be a monster behind closed doors?

Luckily I don't live in a police state, so it's unlikely that I'd be thrown in jail over some misunderstanding, although I could get in some minor trouble. There is no way that I'm ever visiting countries that are known for giving unfair treatment to innocent people and that hand out harsh punishments despite little evidence.

I don't just worry about trouble with the police, but I have often worried about being forced into a mental hospital or be declared incompetent. That would put control over my life back in the hands of people who have abused that control before. It would drive me nuts if control over my own life was taken away from me.

I also worry about false accusations at work getting in the way of being judged fairly there and ruining my chances of a raise or a promotion, which has in the past made me start hating my job or the workplace and quitting after a while.

That's exactly why I'm such a basket case in the first place. I know that once I check in, I will never see the light of day again.

When ever I buy anything, I always insist on receiving a receipt - this gives me the ability to immediately provide a proof of purchase to anyone who might challenge me- such as predatory security guards. ( In Britain we have a legal right to a receipt for any purchase we make, no matter how small ). This eliminates worry about false accusation by employing an effective strategy to destroy the basis of false accusations. No worries now.

Magliabechi.

it is and its also too easy to use excuse restrained because of self harming(yes i do headbang sometimes but not all time)even this place is not psyc it reminds of it very much

It's the smart thing to do.
It is necessary.

But the fact that it's necessary makes me want to start a riot.

Follow that logic and we'll all be carrying clear back packs and pocketbooks.
What do you need a coat for? What are you trying to hide?
We could just walk around naked, but that would conflict with another NT form of insanity.
(Tell me again why we need clothes? I never did figure that one out.)

Maybe carry a note from a shrink giving permission to go around, unsupervised.
We should walk around with handles strapped to our backs so the police can grab us at will.

How about a tranquilizer implant, with a remote-control mechanism that can be triggered by any cop, and just the right dose for the individual, so they can pretend that it's humane. Failure to maintain a functional implant would be grounds to shoot on sight...