GLYNN COUNTY, Ga. — Officers at the Glynn County Police Department in Southeast Georgia are wearing blue rubber badges to support National Autism Acceptance Month.
Action News Jax discovered this gesture was due to one officer’s personal experience at home.
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People with Autism Spectrum Disorder are seven times more likely to come into contact with police.
To help raise awareness, the Glynn County Police Department created the blue rubber badge as a symbol of their autism support.
Read: How multilingualism may boost cognitive skills in children with autism
All officers will wear the badge every April for National Autism Acceptance Month.
Blue badges for GCPD! April is recognized as National Autism Acceptance Month. To mark the occasion, Glynn County...
Posted by Glynn County Police Department on Thursday, April 3, 2025
Lt. Keith Stalvey, who came up with this idea, said the issue hits close to home for him since his 23-year-old daughter has autism.
“My daughter, she does something that pretty much surprises us every day,” Stalvey said.
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We asked whether this badge would lead to additional police training on how to deal with people with autism. Lt. Stalvey told us no, but he explained that the department already undergoes specialized training in this regard.
He said their main focus is “Being able to identify different characteristics of the individual where it’s possible that they are special needs.”
“It’s literally impossible for an officer not to have some type of interaction with a person with autism. Statistically impossible,” Stacey Hoaglund, President of the Autism Society of Florida, said.
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Hoaglund said her organization has trained thousands of police officers in the state on how to interact with the autism community.
She added that the organization even pushed for House Bill 1273 and Senate Bill 1554, which would require police to be trained on how to interact with people with autism. However, the bills did not pass this year.
“So, the reason that we’re hearing is that there was a disagreement from the Florida Sheriffs Association about the bill,” Hoaglund said.
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Hoaglund said she trains officers to learn two simple methods when encountering people with autism:
“Address autism when you come upon them and also how to de-escalate,” Hoaglund said.
Action News Jax reported that law enforcement in Clay, St. Johns, and Duval counties have already gone through specialized training on how to interact with individuals with autism.
Over 120 officers are wearing this blue badge at the Glynn County Police Department and will continue to do so until the end of April.
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