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F.L.P.D. starts new program to safely return to their home those residents with a mental or neurological disability. |
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Chief of Police Erik Rose announces a new program designed to
assist persons with mental or neurological disabilities who cannot
communicate with the police in being reunited with family members or legal
guardians more expeditiously. On occasion, police officers locate such a
person in need of assistance and are unable to immediately locate a family
member or guardian. This results in the disabled person being detained in
the police station or at a hospital unnecessarily while the police attempt
to locate a relative or guardian.
This program is designed for persons with such disabilities as
Alzheimer’s Disease or Autism, but it is not limited to persons with
those afflictions. It is not designed for small children or persons with
disabilities who can communicate with the police either verbally or in
writing. Parents of small children instead are encouraged to participate
in Project Kid Care I.D. that the Fair Lawn Rotary presents in partnership
with the Fair Lawn Police Department at the Radburn Street Fair (which is
held in May of each year) and at the River Road Street Fair (which is held
in October of each year). The information will be kept confidential. The only purpose of this program is to be able to reunite persons with disabilities with their caregivers promptly. The program is completely voluntary. If you decide to participate and later decide to withdraw from the program, the registration form and pictures will be returned to you. If you are a legal guardian of a person with a disability that would prevent the person from communicating information to the police such as their name, address, phone number and address of a relative and are interested in participating, please stop into the Fair Lawn Police Department at 8-01 Fair Lawn Ave. for a registration form. Please bring two recent pictures of the disabled person. There is no fee for this service. Any questions may be directed to Sgt. Derek Bastinck at 201-794-5365. |