Between the sirens and uniforms, Gijs Repriels (40) from Oisterwijk found the peace he was looking for. Because of his autism, he always fell out of several employers for years. Now he analyzes camera images for the police. They no longer want to lose him there. This is why the Gijs police did understand and what it yielded. “I have self -confidence again,” Gijs shines.
A photo of his head shows off the puppets of the football table, just like that of his colleagues. Above his desk, a blue tile with the text adorns: “If you don’t have to work, I am there – Gijs.” The forties is completely established with the Dewers in Blauw on the Basic Team Leijdal in Tilburg.
Headache and stress
How different was that years ago. Gijs went to special education and was only diagnosed with autism at the age of 28. He dropped out of other employers. “I had little self -confidence then.” Gijs tried everything: dishwasher, warehouse employee, assistant furniture maker and later cleaner at a school. “I got little satisfaction from that.” He was often over -stimulated, had a hard time and had a lot of headache and stress.
He has now analyzed camera images of burglaries, thefts, vandalism and other common crimes since 2021. And how. “Months later he can recognize a suspect. I have seen it before, he calls. Gijs is very fast,” says his boss Cissy Oerlemans proudly. “He sees everything and saves it well.”
“Very fat and exciting”
“Very cool and very cool! I never thought I would work with the police. I would have laughed at you if you would have told me this years ago,” Gijs laughs. “The police are very cool and exciting.” For example, he recently helped with finding a perpetrator who had robbed a woman in a wheelchair. “Very cool that you can help someone.”
Sure his workplace has been adjusted. He has his own workspace where he can close the door. He also goes walking alone in the break in the afternoon. And he makes shorter days of six hours a day. Cissy: “It took some getting used to. In the beginning he looked the cat out of the tree.” Now he is good in the team and that absolutely doesn’t want to lose him anymore. He obtained a course to read telephones and soon he will be following a training Internet investigation.
“I am not autistic 24/7.”
There are plenty of prejudices about people with autism. “That we are not intelligent. I am not autistic 24/7. Also, people with autism are not all the same,” Gijs knows.
The police recently shared his story to inspire others. Gijs is overloaded with positive reactions. He hopes to help other people with autism tell his story. He has a clear message: “With guidance you can do more than you think!”
