The Massachusetts Senate unanimously passed legislation filed by Sen. Jo Comerford, of Northampton, and later supported by Sen. Brendan Crighton, of Lynn, that aims to facilitate better interactions between police and individuals with autism this week.
If passed by the state House of Representatives and signed into law by Gov. Maura Healey, the measure, known as the Blue Envelope Bill, would create a voluntary program to make special blue envelopes available to people on the autism spectrum, which contain the individual’s driver’s license, registration, and insurance card and can be handed to a police officer in the event of a traffic stop.
Each envelope’s exterior would list the driver’s impairments, triggers, emergency contact information, and best practices for communicating. Crighton, who approved the bill through his role as chair of the Joint Committee on Transportation, said he voted in favor of it after hearing the testimonies of police officers and the families of drivers with autism.
“We heard overwhelmingly from law-enforcement agencies, community organizations, and the parents, certainly. Everyone agreed that just doing this simple thing, making this simple change, will lead to better communication and also safer interactions for both officers and drivers,” Crighton said.
The Blue Envelope Bill aims to prevent instances of law-enforcement officers misreading the actions of individuals with autism.
The bill has gained wide support from autism advocacy groups, such as Advocates for Autism of Massachusetts (AFAM), and law-enforcement organizations around the Commonwealth.
“The Blue Envelope Bill would be a game changer for our family and for so many Massachusetts residents. Like many people with autism, my 25-year-old son Sam does not have any physical characteristics that indicate he has autism,” AFAM Executive Committee member Ilyse Levine-Kanji said in a written statement. “In a stressful situation, where split second decisions must be made, I’m relieved that a police officer could see a blue envelope in Sam’s car and immediately understand that any unusual behavior or speech pattern is a result of autism.”
Among those who testified in support of the bill at Thursday’s hearing was University of Massachusetts Amherst Chief of Police Tyrone Parham, who said the proposed legislation would not only make traffic stops safer and less stressful for people with autism, but also put police officers at ease during routine traffic stops.
“Massachusetts police officers conduct thousands of traffic stops each year. While most of these interactions are relatively routine, officers do not know who they are interacting with before the traffic stop, so they proceed with caution,” Parham said. “There are many potential communication conflicts with police officers during traffic stops and perspectives offered by those on the autism spectrum. The introduction of the blue envelope under stressful interactions will provide immediate information and context to the officer as they begin to communicate… This will be instrumental to help bridge the communication gap for both motorists and police officers.”
Similar legislation has been adopted in other states, including Connecticut, and has been shown to reduce stress, facilitate better communication, and improve safety.
