I am a serving officer with Police Scotland. My Fellowship examined police training, specifically around autism awareness for officers. As an officer with an Autistic Spectrum Condition, I was acutely aware of the lack of knowledge around autism and was therefore looking to find examples of best practice in training methods and to use these to inform training in the UK.

The findings of my Fellowship have been shared across the country via the National Police Autism Association and have been used as a foundation for the development of training packages within Police Scotland.

Undertaking my Fellowship has provided huge personal and professional development. It has improved my knowledge in this area massively, allowing me to better contribute to training colleagues and therefore serving the public. The Fellowship has also provided opportunities that I would never have had without it, for example visiting the Scottish Parliament to discuss my findings with an MSP.

I continue to work on increasing knowledge and understanding of autism in policing.