The Police Ombudsman has recommended that officers receive enhanced training to improve their response to autistic members of the public, particularly those with individual communication needs.

The recommendation follows an investigation into an incident in December 2024 where a young non-verbal autistic woman was physically removed from a shop in Lisburn by four police officers and her father.

The young woman's mother subsequently filed a complaint with the Police Ombudsman, questioning whether officers had complied with their autism training and the effectiveness of that training. While the investigation found no misconduct by the officers involved, Nikki Davis, Director of Investigations with the Police Ombudsman's Office, described the incident as "undoubtedly distressing" and stressed the need for improved training.

The incident occurred when the young woman entered a shop through half-closed shutters. As the tills were no longer operational, she was unable to purchase a DVD. Shop staff then asked her and her mother to leave. When the non-verbal young woman would not leave, the situation escalated, leading to police being called.

Body-worn video footage showed that the first two officers discussed the situation with the young woman's parents, clearly stating she needed to leave as the shop was closed and expressing a preference for her parents to remove her. Her father initially encouraged his daughter to leave before attempting to move her physically. When this proved unsuccessful, officers discussed the next course of action.

Police became physically involved only after the young woman's father continued to struggle alone. During one attempt to escort her outside, an officer sustained an injury. Ultimately, when two more officers arrived, the four officers and the young woman's father collectively carried her out of the shop. "What happened during this incident was undoubtedly distressing for this young woman and her parents, and footage of her being carried out of the shop by police and her father was the subject of significant public commentary," said Nikki Davis. "However, when reviewed in its entirety, the body worn video, which included audio, together with CCTV footage, showed that the police officers who responded to the incident understood that the best approach was for her parents to encourage her to leave the shop."

Davis added: "When those efforts were unsuccessful, and their own attempts to escort the young woman from the shop also failed, the officers, along with her father, physically removed her. The police officers recognised from the outset that there was no simple solution and their action was a last resort in an incident which lasted for around 18 minutes from police entering the shop to leaving."

While the officers did not breach the PSNI code of ethics, the situation "exposed a gap in current PSNI training and led directly to the recommendation that police officers should receive enhanced training which equips them to engage with, and respond to, any autistic person, but especially a person who speaks few or no words and may communicate in other ways."

The Police Ombudsman's investigation involved reviewing police documentation, all body-worn video, internal and external CCTV footage from the shop, and taking witness statements, including from the young woman's parents.

Assistant Chief Constable Ryan Henderson of the PSNI welcomed the report. "This was a very difficult and complex set of circumstances for everyone involved and we welcome the confirmation from the Ombudsman's report that no officer should face any misconduct as a result of this investigation and recognises their efforts to support the young woman's parents to diffuse the distressing situation they found," he said.

Assistant Chief Constable Henderson acknowledged the identified training gap. "The Ombudsman has identified that whilst there is training for front line officers in dealing with vulnerability and mental health there is no specific input for front line officers on strategies for dealing with those they encounter who may be non-verbal. In keeping with the recommendation we will now consider how best to incorporate this element into future training."

He concluded by reiterating the PSNI's commitment to patient approaches in challenging situations involving vulnerable people and highlighted the ongoing work around 'Right Care Right Person' and the Police Autism Support Group.