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Autistic people and their families: Calls to the police

Of 3,654 calls in one English city, 78 concerned autistic people or families; over a quarter involved missing persons, with families the most frequent callers.

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Published on IPP

  • Publisher(s): Emerald Publishing

  • Publication date: April 2026

  • Country: United Kingdom

Why it matters: It reinforces the value of early, family-led information gathering about communication, routines, behaviour, risks and likely places.

Operational transferability: Relevant to UK police-led searches, though based on one city and initial police contacts rather than search outcomes.

Important limitations: Two-month sample; no interviews with autistic people or families; it does not evaluate particular search tactics.

Training influence: Build an initial-information exercise around respectful, structured family questioning and recording operationally relevant details.

SAR training sections: Information gathering and subject assessment; search urgency and survivability; behavioural and spatial profiling; communications.

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