APPLETON, WI (WTAQ) – Appleton Police are launching a collaborative program to allow responders to better approach situations dealing with community members who may have dementia, autism, or other cognitive impairments.
Project Safe Response is a collaborative program that will allow members of our community living with dementia, autism, or other cognitive impairments and their caregivers an opportunity to proactively provide critical information to first responders so they can be more informed when responding to critical calls for service. The program will be maintained by the Appleton Police Department and community members can enroll in the program by first filling out an informational packet and then setting up an intake meeting.
“It includes emergency contact information for the person, information about any communication barriers they may have, how to gain rapport with that person, and likewise, things to avoid in talking to that person,” said Sergeant Carrie Peters. “The point of this program is to help our first responders assist in calls for service involving these folks in a more appropriate manner.”
Officers will be able to access that information prior to responding to a situation, like one of the common responses to missing, lost and confused, or wandering individuals within the city.
“[It helps them] understand better how to interact with the person if they are in crisis, and know how to get a hold of an emergency contact if it’s a situation where perhaps they’ve wandered or become lost,” Peters told WTAQ News. “I think it’s hugely important, because our aging population is rapidly on the rise. With that population growing, so grows the number of people who are living with some form of dementia.”
Officers are also trained in dementia response, which can help them better recognize what may be going on. But having information about the person in advance can make dealing with the situation easier for officers, and better overall.
“If we don’t know in advance that perhaps somebody has dementia, autism, or cognitive impairment and we’re seeing them behave in a certain manner, we might make incorrect judgments as to why they’re acting that way,” Peters said. “Knowing that they have one of these impairments better equips us to understand why they might be acting that way, and then flips our response to coincide with that interaction.”
Appleton Police are partnering with Fox Valley Memory Project (FVMP) and the Outagamie County Aging and Disability Resource Center (ADRC) on the project.
The forms are available at the Appleton Police Department, FVMP, the ADRC or online at appletonpd.org.
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