Greenbelt police have rolled out an effort aimed at helping families quickly reunite with loved ones who are prone to wandering off, especially those with autism, dementia or other conditions that make communication difficult.
The Greenbelt Guardian Program, which launched April 24, lets families register a loved one with the police department, officer Kendall Graham said. The registration takes about two minutes and asks for basic information, a recent photo and two emergency contacts.
“It’s really for anyone who might be at risk … anyone who has trouble communicating with police officers,” Graham said. “Autism or dementia or any type of medical conditions. But at the end of the day, it could just really help families as well as officers, just be better prepared.”
If someone who is registered goes missing, police can use the information to identify them, contact their family and if needed, use communication techniques that work for people who officers know are nonverbal going into the search.
Graham said the idea came from seeing how often officers respond to calls about missing or found people who have trouble communicating.
In addition, Spring Hill Lake Elementary School in Greenbelt has a program that includes more than 100 autistic students in the county. She said teachers there reacted positively to the program.
“I was just trying to make some type of proactive approach for us as officers to get this information in real time and just have it for us available,” Graham said.
The program is open to Greenbelt residents and anyone who might visit the area. Police have not had to use the program yet, but Graham said it could make a big difference for families and officers if someone does go missing.
“We hope we never have to use this registration or program at all. But if we need to, we’ll be prepared for it,” Graham said.
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