Great Barrington Police Recognizing Autism Awareness Month

The Great Barrington Police Department is doing something that, quite frankly, all police departments in the Berkshires, the state, and across the country should be doing.... that's giving its officers the training necessary for dealing with individuals with autism.

April is National Autism Awareness month and the Great Barrington Police Department is expanding its training to include a series of trainings on Autism. According to a press release from Great Barrington Chief of Police Paul Storti, over the month of April, Great Barrington Police Officers will receive trainings that will give officers guidance to help identify people with Autism, techniques to help the officers interact with autistic individuals, and a training to give officers an understanding of autism characteristics and behavior.

We are grateful to The Stanton Home, a residential program for people with disabilities, who has provided the police department with a resource manual focused on assisting officers when interacting with individuals at their homes. This resource includes educational components to help officers understand their clients and to help communicate with them in a more effective manner. ~ Paul Storti, Great Barrington Chief of Police

 

Chief Storti called it a great example of how the department can educate its officers by having a deeper understanding of all of the people who make up our community...

It is by the community and police working together that we can provide exceptional service to everyone.

 

If you would like the Great Barrington Police Department to know about any specific considerations regarding an individual in your household refer to this link at the department's website:

https://greatbarringtonpolice.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/157/2021/04/Autism-form-1.pdf

If you would like to learn more about Autism, please go to: https://www.autism-society.org/what-is/