If you were arrested would you tell booking that you have AS

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If you were arrested would you tell the booking people at the holding center you have Aspergers? My friends that have been in and out of the holding center for various reasons told me never to admit to any mental differences and especially that you ever had any suicidal thoughts. You could end up naked and strapped to a matress in an issolation room. I don't know if they were teasing me or they were telling me the truth, Have any of you had experiences with being arrested and dealing local jails?

However if you were going to state or federal prison tell every guard you meet at reception until someone listens. This comes from a friend and a cousin who are prison guards. I guess you can bring medical paper work with you.

I've never been in trouble with the law, so my advice is probably worthless here.

If I were in that situation, the only person I would probably tell is a judge.

Cops hear all kinds of excuses from whom they arrest and probably wouldn'tgive you any special treatment. My bet is that it can only work against you and lead to the situation you describe.



Are you planning on doing something illegal that you need to worry about it?

I probably would. I do have some physical health problems, I would bring that up first though.

No.

I honestly don't know. I'm really ridiculous about following rules/laws, but if I ever got in the situation I'd say ONLY if it seemed beneficial and that means I'd have to survey the specific situation before I could even give an answer. It really depends, so sorry but I can't seem to answer this one!

You probably shouldn't. The chance of the police regocnizing Asperger's Syndrome as something that requires special treatment not more likely than the police assuming it was the cause of the crime, especially since their have been Asperger's Syndrome related encounters with the police.

When I was arrested, I informed the sergeant of my AS and he said that I had to be accompanied by an appropriate adult when interviewed even though I was 24.

I was arrested for harassment because I sent letters to a girl I hadn't seen for four years and told her I was in love with her.

You can carry an Autism Alert Card like this one http://www.autism.org.uk/en-gb/living-w ... -card.aspx and leave it to them to confirm the paperwork later. I guess you need one from your own country, or not recognisably foreign.

Same thing with your posting,Molecular Biologist.The police have no business to know of your condition.The judge is
the one deciding your punishment,not the officers.

That's assuming the police decide to charge you. For most minor offences, you spend a day in the slammer and they give you a caution.

Also, when you are interviewed by the police you are told: "You are not obliged to say anything, but it may harm your defence if you neglect to mention something now which you later rely on in court". This means that you would have a hard time using AS as a mitigating circumstance if you didn't mention it when you were interviewed by the police.

Good to know our boys in blue are making the best use of taxpayers' money (sarcasm).

I don't know if I'd spill the beans or not. If I were being interrogated and they seemed to be erring on the side of suspicion because of ignorance of my condition, I might tell them. But if AS seemed to be irrelevent to the situation, then I wouldn't bother. In any case the police would probably ignore it just like the DWP ignores it.

Last edited by ToughDiamond on 15 Jul 2010, 4:19 am, edited 1 time in total.

They'd find out on their own accord, as I wouldn't say a word if I were arrested.

I suggest watching these videos

PART 1
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6wXkI4t7nuc[/youtube]

PART 2

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=08fZQWjDVKE[/youtube]

Well, the law is a strange thing, so I don't know, but I suspect it would do no harm to fail to mention AS until the trial. I think what they're driving at with this "may harm your defense" idea is that in some cases the judge would be thinking that you'd made up the excuse after talking to a lawyer, otherwise why didn't you tell the cops when they first arrested you? But if you've got a DX from a professional of good standing, the excuse clearly hasn't been made up, and your failure to realise its relevence could easily be explained - you have difficulty in putting yourself into somebody else's shoes, particularly when stressed out and suddenly forced to talk to strangers in a strange environment, so you didn't appreciate the relevence of the information at the time. They can't ignore an excuse you can prove, can they?

I imagine that being certain to mention autism (to each individual officer, and at each interview if necessary) would either ensure that you are treated with adequate regard to your needs, or have legal redress if mistreated. They can't be accused of failing to account for autistic traits if they do not know you have them.

(and I don't see autism as any kind of defence for anything, so I can't imagine holding it back until court as a magic freedom card)

Sure - by "harm" I meant that point in the trial where they ask if you'd mentioned your alibis etc. to the cops. You could improve the treatment you got from the cops though, if you divulged it. I like the idea of saying "autistic" rather than "Aspergers"......and it might just make them a little more reluctant to mistreat you. With a bit of luck they won't know what they have to account for, and be scared to try anything they think might land them in trouble.

I suppose the value of the autism excuse in court is pretty limited. Didn't help that young hacker much, did it? Though the political agenda may be overriding justice in that particular case, and maybe AS is functioning as part of the defense's delaying tactics even as we speak. I'd imagine the excuse value depends on the individual case. If the reasons for the offense can be explained largely in terms of the autistic traits the defendent is known to have, then maybe that would be taken into account. But it might not be smart to demonstrate that your autism has led you to harm others, as any remorse on your part would not be seen as a likely brake to your reoffending....basically you'd be admitting that you were out of control. Pure conjecture on my part though.