by Shannon Becker
Herald Staff
Several visitors arrived at the Cheshire Police Department early Saturday morning for a unique Special Needs At-Risk Day event, sponsored by the town’s Human Services Committee and the police department.
The purpose of this event was to familiarize families who have a child or other family member with special needs with the police department and also to provide an opportunity for families to register their loved one on an At-Risk List with the police department. The intention of the registry is to make available valuable, time saving, and perhaps life-saving, information to police in the event that they are called upon to respond to an incident involving the loved one. This would include medical emergencies, 911 calls, as well as any other routine calls. The Cheshire Fire Department as well as the town’s ambulance service were represented at the event so residents could become acquainted with personnel and ask questions.
“This is the first time we’ve done this, but there are just so many benefits in offering such a program, “ said Lt. Jay Markella, the police department’s public information officer.
Vickie Canale, a member of the Human Services Committee, said the idea for a registry of special needs individuals — both children and adults — was raised a couple of months ago.
“One of our members had a child run off one morning, and we started talking about working with the police department to organize a registry for special needs children and adults,” Canale said. “The registry is voluntary and all information included in it will be kept confidential. But once the registry is in place, the police will have contact information and know how to approach the individuals, including what will scare them and what won’t. It’s also helpful information to have in the event of a fire.”
Saturday’s event included a tour of the police department and a visit with some of the uniformed officers on duty so that the guests’ first impression of the police is in a non-emergency situation. The group also made a visit to the fire department.
Cheshire’s police officers collected information from everyone who registered, hoping it will assist them in helping individuals in an emergency.
Markella said everyone who registered was also issued a picture ID with the Cheshire Police Department’s contact information on the back.
Markella said this type of proactive program is being done more often in law enforcement, and it protects both the residents with special needs and the town’s police officers.
“So many things can happen,” Markella said. “If a person has a medical emergency, gets lost or runs away, contact information on them is readily available to us, and we can get them back home as soon as possible.”
Markella said it also reduces the risk of confrontational situations.
“Sometimes a person may appear violent when they’re not. Or a person could act violent when they become scared or confused. The registry is designed to give police officers ways to approach the special needs individual on the list,” Markella said.
Once the registry is in place, police can type in the information of a residence and a blinking light on the screen will notify officers if it is a home where a special needs person resides.
“The goal is to have all of the information needed to handle any situation that may come up,” Markella said.
He used the example of the police department receiving a 911 hang up call. “If we know there is a bed-ridden person there who is unable to speak, we may decide to force entry sooner rather than later or if we know there is a neighbor who has a spare key, then we can contact them to let us in,” he said.
Neither Canale nor Markella were able to give any firm numbers with regard to special needs population because of confidentiality issues. “But there is a significant population that would benefit for this type of registry,” Canale said.
Deb Kelleher, chairwoman of the Human Services Committee, emphasized that the registry is open to anyone with special needs from someone who has had traumatic brain injuries to someone who is experiencing the early onset of Alzheimer’s disease.
