Symbol of law and justice with New Zealand Flag. Photo: 123rf.com
A new study raises significant questions about how young neurodiverse people are treated by the criminal justice system.
Otago University researchers studied 150,000 17 to 25 year olds with autism and found that they were much less likely to be charged with crimes than non-autistic people.
However among those charged with an offence, people with autism were more likely to be charged with a serious offence, punishable by two or more years in prison.
Kathryn speaks with two of the report's authors, Otago University Research Fellow Nick Bowden and co-researcher Joanne Dacombe.
