Aspergers 'has no link to crime'

[annie]

From the BBC website

 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/4755313.stm

[~Jonathan~]

I've just seen this. Tell us something we don't know I could say. It's a pity vast sections of the media have needed this reality check. I get so sick and tired of hearing and seeing people making a link between AS and crime. Thanks for posting this, much needed I feel.

[TheNeil]

Does this mean I have to start behaving as a law-abiding member of society again? Damn, there goes another excuse

 

Note: TheNeil would like to take this opportunity to state that he has never broken the law

[TuX]

In January, an 18-year-old from Manchester claimed to suffer from the syndrome when he was jailed for murdering a 10-year--old girl.

There was no medical evidence to suggest he was a sufferer.

I thought he was actually diagnosed with AS,now it say there is no evidence he has it,if that is true,it is people like him who are ruining the credibility of HFK/AS autistics,he should not be allowed to get away with it.

[stresshead]

It should be noted that a crime can be commited in confusion and comunication though. I read a presentation from the liverpool aspergers team, they have performed a case study, i have looked for the link but can't find it, i will try and post it later.

 

one of the examples that they use is the case of a man who attacked a taxi driver, whilst coming home from chester to liverpool. when they anylysed why the attack had taken place they found that the man had made this journey many times in a taxi with no bother, on this particular day the taxi driver knew that there was congestion through the mersey tunnel, so decided to take the route through runcorn. the man already had fears of being kidnapped and being out of control of a situation, and when he realised that the taxi driver was not going the regular way, attacked him through fear of being kidnapped. communication, paranoia, or misunderstanding a crime still happened that could have been prevented.

[DaisyProudfoot]

I've just read this and although I can see the positives - why are they called "sufferers" and deemed to have a "mild form of autism"

[Jill]

Whilst part of me sort of welcomes this story, because it helps to correct any misunderstandings (if there ARE actually any), I think most of me is quite miffed by it.

 

First of all, do the general public actually "link" aspergers / autism with crime anyway? I doubt that most people are even aware enough of the spectrum to do this. However, now this has appeared on the BBC website, you can bet that a lot of people now do make the link.

 

Also, why pick out aspergers as "not being linked to crime"? No offence to anyone, but what's so special about aspergers? You may as well have an article that says "Downs not linked to crime" or "Migraines not linked to crime".

 

A better story might be to investigate how many crimes are committed by people suffering with PMT. Mebbe that's why it's miffed me so much, being published at this point in the month.............

 

PS - that boy that killed the girl did claim to have aspergers, but was later proven NOT to have it - he just tried to use it as an excuse.

[Elanor]

I agree with your points Jill.

 

I know a young man with AS who touched a woman's leg as she climbed the steps into a bus in front of him - he doesn't know why he did it, he certainly had no sexual intent. I doubt that he had any idea about personal space. Of course it was interpreted as an assault, and he accepted a police caution. From the woman's point of view, someone touched her up, from his point of view, it was nothing. Who's right? Was it really a crime?

 

Anyway this story is looking at things from the wrong direction - how many people with AS are victims of crimes? I'll guess they are substantially more vulnerable to crime - just as they are to bullying as children.

 

Elanor

[oracle]

I would like to know where the BBC got there info from because if you read this link

http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/new...et_girl_10.html

 

you will see that it was stated in court during the trail of this lad that he has AS. Now I am one of those people who believes that during this kind of trial they are meant to tell the truth. It's important that they do. If this was stated and it's not true then something should be done and there should be a HUGE outcry made about this because it did do a blooming good paint job on AS. I for one am going to contact them and ask for their evidence on this.

 

At the time there was a huge debate on another group about this lad and the fact that this was not the first time there had been an incident with him. Many felt (rightly or wrongly) that his parents had to carry some of the responsibility because they had asked others to cover for the lad and themselves. As you can see it went into quite a bit of detail.

 

AS is made an example of every time something happens and the person concerned has AS. If someone is a loner and has few friends the press almost always start to speculate - so this is why this research is so important. But I also have to say that NAS state every time that there is no evidence to suggest that people with AS are more likely to offend that anyone else.

 

Glad I got that off my chest.

 

Oracle

Edited May 10, 2006 by oracle

[oracle]

Just sent this to the BBC

 

Having just read

 

Asperger's 'has no link to crime'

Hywel Griffith

BBC Wales Health Correspondent

 

I would like to aks if it is in fact correct that they boy mentioned in the article does not in fact have Aspergers Syndrome? There was a great deal of adverse publicity for people with Aspergers Syndrome created by what was printed in the press before and during this case, where it is my understanding that it was stated during the trial that this boy has Aspergers Syndrome.

 

If this is not the case then I feel that it is now the duty of thr press and the BBC to give this just as much publicity. As the mother of two sons with autism - one with Aspergers Syndrome - and the coordinator of a National parents support group I would like to be able to set the record straight.

 

Could you please clarify this point for me?

 

thanks

[Canopus]

I was recently talking to a policeman and I asked him if he knew anything about AS. He told me he had heard of the condition but didn't know much about it. He thinks that it only affects kids and young teenagers and that it vanishes once somebody reaches about 20. He told me his brother works in the prison service and probably knows more about AS than he does and claims that about 15% of all juvenile offenders have AS. These people are characterised by having poor social skills and difficulty relating to others. They are often deluded people who don't understand what is socially acceptable and what isn't which is why they end up breaking the law and going to prison. Hitting people is reckoned to be the most common reason for ending up in prison. Occasionally people with AS are set up to do something that is illegal but most of the time they just spontaneously commit an offence with no understanding what they did was illegal. Very rarely would they wilfully commit a crime such as mugging or robbery. I asked the policeman if he thought that people with AS were more likely to break the law than NT people and he said they were because they don't understand the law. He said ignorance is no use in the eyes of the law, and the law applies equally to all people regardless of their psychological condition. Having difficulty understanding what is legal and what isn't is no excuse for attempting to bypass or pervert the course of justice. At the end of the day the courts will prosecute.

 

I asked the policeman if he thought that prison was the best place for juvenile offenders with AS and his reply was that prison does not exist to punish criminals but to protect society. He said that if I went round thinking that people with AS should be let off lightly by the courts when they commit a crime, especially a violent crime, on the grounds of their so called disability then people would think I am crazy. I then asked him if he wanted to know more about AS but told me he has enough to contend with already in the face of rising crime and delinquency.